GEOKHUB | Jan 8 (GeokHub) Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike announced on Thursday it will acquire identity security startup SGNL in a deal valued at $740 million, strengthening its defenses against a new wave of artificial intelligence–driven cyber threats.
The acquisition is aimed at enhancing CrowdStrike’s ability to protect digital identities, which have become a primary target for hackers as organizations increasingly deploy autonomous AI agents across enterprise systems.
CrowdStrike plans to integrate SGNL’s “continuous identity” technology, which continuously evaluates access privileges in real time to prevent attackers from abusing compromised user credentials. Rather than breaking into systems, modern attackers are increasingly “logging in” using stolen or misused identities, the company said.
“We already have a large identity security business,” CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz told Reuters. “What SGNL brings is an identity fabric. Today’s adversaries aren’t breaking in — they’re abusing identity.”
CrowdStrike entered the identity security market in 2020 with its acquisition of Preempt Security. As of the second quarter of fiscal 2026, the company’s identity-related products were generating more than $435 million in annual recurring revenue, underscoring the strategic importance of the segment.
Founded in 2021 by Scott Kriz and Erik Gustavson, SGNL provides a real-time identity security platform designed to manage access for human users, machines, and AI systems across cloud and enterprise environments. CrowdStrike confirmed that SGNL’s entire team will join the company, with no layoffs planned.
The deal aligns with CrowdStrike’s broader push to embed AI more deeply into its cybersecurity operations. The company said it is already deploying autonomous AI agents within its security operations center, reducing complex threat response tasks from days to hours.
CrowdStrike expects the integration of SGNL’s technology into its Falcon platform to be relatively seamless for customers once the transaction closes, which is anticipated in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. The purchase will be paid primarily in cash, with a portion in stock subject to vesting conditions.
