Capital · United States

Palo Alto Networks in talks to buy AI agent security startup Clutch for $500M

Credited to TechCrunch · techcrunch.com · 17h ago

Palo Alto Networks is in talks to acquire Clutch Security, a startup that secures AI agents’ access to company systems, for $500 million in cash plus additional milestone-based payouts, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Three-year-old Clutch was last valued at $85 million when it raised a $20 million Series A round in January 2025, led by Lightspeed and SignalFire, according to our source. The startup is currently approaching $10 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). That means the acquisition, if completed, would value Clutch at about 50 times its ARR, a standard way of pricing software companies.

Palo Alto Networks and Clutch Security did not respond to a request for comment. The Information was the first to report the acquisition discussions.

The high valuation is not an anomaly in a market increasingly focused on securing software against bad actors using AI to breach systems more easily. Upwind, a startup using AI to secure cloud infrastructure, recently turned down an acquisition offer from DataDog that valued it at roughly 40 times ARR, TechCrunch reported last week.

If the deal happens, it would be Palo Alto Networks’ seventh acquisition this year, according to PitchBook. The cybersecurity giant has a history of buying innovation rather than building it in-house, and it has ramped up dealmaking this year in response to rising AI-driven cyberattacks.

In September, Palo Alto Networks acquired Console, a two-year-old startup that uses AI agents to automate routine IT help desk tasks. The transaction valued Console at $500 million in stock and cash, TechCrunch reported. Other VC-backed companies that Palo Alto Networks has scooped up this year include NEA-backed Embrace, for $325 million; Chronosphere, an observability platform backed by Greylock and Lux Capital, for $2.95 billion; and Koi, a cyber startup backed by Battery and Team8, for $231 million, according to regulatory filings.

Several of Clutch’s competitors have also been acquired. Cyera, a cybersecurity startup valued at $12 billion earlier this year, acquired Oasis Security, which, like Clutch, focuses on managing AI agents’ access to systems, for $1 billion. Meanwhile, Cisco bought Menlo Ventures-backed Astrix for roughly $400 million, Calcalist reported.

Models & LabsUnited States

Exclusive-AI backlash could threaten Anthropic IPO timing, potential investors say

Credited to Investing.com · investing.com23h ago

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Capital · United States

AOI Targets Million-Unit Monthly Optics Capacity as 800G and 1.6T Demand Accelerates

Credited to Converge Digest · convergedigest.com · 19h ago

Applied Optoelectronics (AOI) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $269.9 million, up 128% from $118.6 million a year earlier and 41% from $191.9 million in the second quarter. It was the company’s sixth consecutive record quarter. Datacenter revenue rose to $155.6 million from $43.9 million, an increase of 254%, and accounted for 58% of sales. CATV revenue grew 57% to $110.9 million, while Telecom fell to $2.7 million from $3.7 million. AOI said it has signed a multi-year strategic agreement with a Tier 1 hyperscale datacenter customer. The release does not name the customer or give the value or term of the agreement.

Manufacturing capacity is the focus of AOI’s 800G and 1.6T transceiver ramp. The company said its total manufacturing equipment capacity is approaching 330,000 units per month. It expects to have enough equipment installed by the end of 2026 to produce more than 500,000 800G and 1.6T transceivers per month, and more than 1 million per month by the end of 2027. AOI also said its 2027 U.S. capacity expansion will take longer than planned because obtaining the necessary electrical power is taking longer than expected, among other construction issues. Property, plant and equipment rose to $1.04 billion at September 30 from $376.1 million at December 31, 2025. Inventories more than doubled to $378.0 million, and cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash rose to $621.5 million from $216.0 million.

AOI returned to GAAP profitability, with net income of $6.3 million, or $0.07 per share. That compares with net losses of $17.9 million ($0.28 per share) a year earlier and $22.8 million in the second quarter. The operating loss narrowed to $1.4 million, and $10.1 million of net other income brought the company into a pre-tax profit. Non-GAAP net income was $14.8 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, and Adjusted EBITDA was $28.5 million, compared with $2.0 million a year earlier. GAAP gross margin was 28.2%. Non-GAAP gross margin slipped to 28.7% from 29.8% in Q2 and 31.0% a year earlier. Research and development spending rose 79% to $38.1 million. For the fourth quarter, AOI guides revenue of $385 million to $420 million, non-GAAP gross margin of 29.5% to 31%, and non-GAAP net income of $45.9 million to $60.4 million, or $0.48 to $0.63 per share on approximately 96 million shares.

“We are pleased to have generated record revenue for our sixth consecutive quarter and to have returned to GAAP profitability in Q3,” said Dr. Thompson Lin, AOI’s Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We have made meaningful progress in scaling our manufacturing capabilities, particularly for our 800G and 1.6T products, to address demand for AI-related optical technologies that we believe is accelerating. We have recently secured a multi-year strategic agreement with a Tier 1 hyperscale datacenter customer, which we think provides us with improved long-term visibility and reinforces our confidence in the opportunity ahead as demand for high-bandwidth, energy-efficient optical connectivity products continues to grow.”

Key Points: Applied Optoelectronics Q3 2026

DATACENTER OPTICS • Datacenter revenue $155.6M, +254% YoY (from $43.9M); 58% of total revenue • Nine-month Datacenter revenue $344.7M vs. $120.8M in 2025 • Multi-year strategic agreement with a Tier 1 hyperscale datacenter customer (customer, value and term not disclosed) • CEO cites progress scaling 800G and 1.6T manufacturing

CAPACITY • Total manufacturing equipment capacity approaching 330,000 units/month • Target: equipment for 500,000+ 800G/1.6T units/month by end of 2026 • Target: 1M+ 800G/1.6T transceivers/month by end of 2027 • 2027 U.S. expansion to take longer because of delays obtaining electrical power and other construction issues • PP&E $1.04B at Sep 30 vs. $376.1M at Dec 31, 2025; inventories $378.0M vs. $183.1M

Q3 RESULTS • Revenue $269.9M, +128% YoY, +41% QoQ; sixth consecutive record quarter • CATV $110.9M (+57%); Telecom $2.7M (vs. $3.7M); Other $0.7M • Gross margin: GAAP 28.2%; non-GAAP 28.7% (vs. 29.8% in Q2 and 31.0% a year earlier) • Net income: GAAP $6.3M ($0.07/share); non-GAAP $14.8M ($0.17/diluted share) • Adjusted EBITDA $28.5M vs. $2.0M; R&D $38.1M (+79%)

BALANCE SHEET • Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash $621.5M (vs. $216.0M at Dec 31, 2025) • Accounts payable $494.3M; convertible senior notes $128.8M • Total stockholders’ equity $2.24B (vs. $733.9M)

Q4 2026 GUIDANCE • Revenue $385M–$420M (midpoint +49% QoQ) • Non-GAAP gross margin 29.5%–31% • Non-GAAP net income $45.9M–$60.4M; non-GAAP EPS $0.48–$0.63 on ~96M shares

AOI’s quarter shows how the 800G and 1.6T transceiver market is working: demand is set by a small number of hyperscale buyers, and supply depends on how quickly vendors can add capacity. Datacenter revenue more than tripled year over year, and the fourth-quarter outlook points to another sequential increase of about 49% at the midpoint. AOI frames the new Tier 1 agreement as a source of longer-term visibility. Because the customer, value and term are not disclosed, the agreement shows the direction of demand but not its size. AOI’s own risk factors list reliance on a small number of customers for a substantial portion of revenue, so the timing of a few hyperscale orders still drives results. The capacity plan scales a supply line of roughly 330,000 units per month of total equipment capacity to more than 1 million 800G and 1.6T units per month by the end of 2027, about a threefold increase. The release ties the delay to the 2027 U.S. buildout to electrical power and construction, not demand. That links the optics supply chain to the same power-availability limits facing AI data centers themselves.

Margins have not kept pace with volume. Non-GAAP gross margin fell to 28.7% even as revenue more than doubled, compared with 31.0% a year earlier. Guidance of 29.5% to 31% for the fourth quarter implies some recovery as new lines absorb fixed costs. The release does not report average selling prices or product-level margins, so it does not show how much of the compression comes from pricing and how much from ramp costs. The balance sheet shows the cost of building capacity ahead of revenue. Property, plant and equipment nearly tripled in nine months, and inventories and payables both rose sharply. Equity funding raised additional paid-in capital by about $1.5 billion over the same period. The open questions for the transceiver market are whether AOI can hold the end-2026 500,000-unit equipment milestone, how the 800G-to-1.6T mix develops as 1.6T volumes begin, and whether the new hyperscale agreement widens AOI’s customer base or deepens its existing concentration.

AOI’s results point to accelerating demand for high-bandwidth optical connectivity and a substantial increase in the production scale needed to serve it. The next measure of progress will be how quickly installed equipment becomes sustained output, particularly as the company works through the infrastructure requirements of its U.S. expansion.