CrowdStrike to shell out nearly $500M for 2 AI security startups as the market for securing agents takes off

CrowdStrike is acquiring two AI security companies, Fiddler AI and Dreadnode, for a total of around $495 million. Fiddler AI makes AI agent observability software to monitor AI agents within enterprises, while Dreadnode helps automate security testing for AI models and apps. The acquisitions aim to help CrowdStrike capture a share of the burgeoning market for securing AI agents, which is growing as companies increasingly adopt AI tools and models. The deals come at a time of significant upheaval in the cybersecurity space, as companies' policies and processes lag behind AI adoption. CrowdStrike has been building its own detection and response controls, Falcon Guardian, to help companies understand what AI agents are doing on their devices. The acquisitions are expected to further flesh out CrowdStrike's offerings in this area.