Databricks strikes deal to buy Panther Labs in cybersecurity push. 16 Jun 2026 11:31PM (Updated: 17 Jun 2026 12:20AM) Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. SAN FRANCISCO, June 16: Databricks said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy startup Panther Labs, as the U.S. data analytics provider pushes deeper into the cybersecurity business. The acquisition, Databricks' third in this area, furthers its aim to compete with security management incumbents like CrowdStrike and Cisco's Splunk. Databricks declined to comment on the deal terms. Panther, valued at $1.4 billion after raising $120 million in Series B funding in 2021, gathers data sources and key ingredients for security in one place. That way, AI programs that act with limited human intervention, known as agents, can respond to a rising flood of threats in the AI age. Anthropic is a customer, the companies have said. Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi said in an interview that AI had drastically shrunk how much time attackers need to exploit software vulnerabilities, and old ways of managing security information and alerts were "dead." "If they're going to attack you with agents, you have to defend with agents," Ghodsi told Reuters, during the company's Data + AI Summit in San Francisco this week. "You have to fight fire with fire." According to Ghodsi, he first met Panther CEO Jack Naglieri in 2021, had dinner with him and pitched an acquisition years ago without success. "He wanted to continue going alone," Ghodsi said. "That was a good idea for him because his valuation has been going up since then and he's built an awesome platform." At $134 billion, Databricks is one of the world's most valuable privately held companies. It unveiled its security ambitions in March with a product called Lakewatch.

Panther has launched its AI SOC Platform, valued at $1.45 billion following a $120 million funding round. The security operations platform uses AI agents that continuously learn organisational patterns and risk profiles to automate alert investigation and detection tuning. The platform features an AI Alert Triage Agent that autonomously investigates alerts using full environmental context, and a closed-loop system where investigation outcomes automatically refine detection rules. Additional capabilities include conversational investigation tools, proactive threat coverage analysis, and AI-powered detection building that converts natural language into production-ready code. Early customers report significant efficiency gains: HealthEquity achieved 90% faster investigation times, whilst Tealium reduced total alert volume by 85%. The platform integrates data lakes, detection engines and organisational knowledge into a single system designed to improve over time.

Panther Labs has acquired Datable, a security telemetry pipeline innovator, to enhance its AI SOC platform. This strategic acquisition aims to expand Panther's data ingestion capabilities, accelerate its AI development, and strengthen its leadership team. The move is expected to improve Panther's ability to automate threat detection and response at an enterprise scale.