Palo Alto paid $500M for a two-year-old company last valued at $157M.

Sources told TechCrunch that Palo Alto Networks paid $500M in cash and stock for Console, an AI agent startup automating routine IT help desk work, though neither company disclosed terms. Console had raised $29M total and PitchBook had it at a $157M valuation before the sale. Palo Alto's seventh acquisition of 2026, folding into Cortex, and the exit leaves Sequoia-backed Serval, valued at $1B last December, as the standalone leader in AI IT service automation.