CrowdStrike is acquiring two AI security companies to broaden its ability to monitor, test and protect AI models and agents, as businesses increasingly deploy the technology across their operations.

The cybersecurity firm will pay about $400 million for Fiddler AI, which builds observability software for tracking AI agents inside enterprises, and roughly $95 million for Dreadnode, which automates security testing to catch flaws in AI models, apps and agents before they go live, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The purchases come amid major disruption in cybersecurity, with company policies and processes trailing AI adoption. Employees are experimenting with AI tools, automating workflows, building custom apps and deploying fleets of AI agents - creating headaches for security teams.

CrowdStrike, whose products are used widely by enterprises and governments, is aiming to use its scale to grab a share of this fast-growing market. Rivals and startups have also raised tens of millions in funding on the premise that existing security software cannot adequately monitor and control AI tools and usage.

CrowdStrike has been developing its own detection and response controls, called Falcon Guardian, to show companies what agents are doing on their devices. Fiddler AI will join the Falcon platform as Falcon Observe, helping clients evaluate agents before deployment, understand their actions and feed telemetry into the wider platform. Dreadnode will be integrated into Falcon Guardian, supplying testing results as security policy recommendations.

Fiddler AI, founded in 2018, has raised about $99 million to date, according to PitchBook. Dreadnode, founded in 2023, has raised $14 million.

Source: TechCrunch