Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is an American multinational cybersecurity company with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The core product is a platform that includes advanced firewalls and cloud-based offerings that extend those firewalls to cover other aspects of security. The company serves over 70,000 organizations in over 150 countries, including 85 of the Fortune 100. It is home to the Unit 42 threat research team and hosts the Ignite cybersecurity conference. It is a partner organization of the World Economic Forum.
In June 2018, former Google and SoftBank executive Nikesh Arora joined the company as Chairman and CEO.
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History
Palo Alto Networks was founded in 2005 by Nir Zuk, a former engineer from Check Point and NetScreen Technologies. Zuk, an Israeli native, began working with computers during his mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces in the early 1990s and served as head of software development in Unit 8200, a branch of the Israeli Intelligence Corps.
The company debuted on the NYSE on July 20, 2012, raising $260 million with its initial public offering, which was the 4th-largest tech IPO of 2012. It remained on the NYSE until October 2021 when the company transferred its listing to Nasdaq.
In 2014, Palo Alto Networks founded the Cyber Threat Alliance with Fortinet, McAfee, and Symantec (now NortonLifeLock), a not-for-profit organization with the goal of improving cybersecurity "for the greater good" by encouraging cybersecurity organizations to collaborate by sharing cyber threat intelligence among members. By 2018, the organization had 20 members including Cisco, Check Point, Juniper Networks, and Sophos.