Palo Alto Networks acquires Chronosphere for AI-era observability

Palo Alto Networks has completed its acquisition of Chronosphere, positioning observability as a foundational requirement for security and operations in AI-driven environments. The move targets a growing challenge for enterprises: managing visibility and control across increasingly complex, cloud-native and AI-powered systems.

Addressing observability limits in AI-scale environments

Chronosphere, recognized as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms, was designed to operate at cloud-native scale. Unlike legacy monitoring tools that struggle with high-cardinality data and distributed architectures, the platform provides real-time visibility across applications, infrastructure, and AI systems.

With the acquisition, Palo Alto Networks aims to enable organizations to observe large-scale data flows while maintaining control over data cost and operational value—an issue increasingly referred to as the “data tax” of modern IT and security operations.

Integration with Cortex AgentiX and autonomous operations

Palo Alto Networks plans to integrate Chronosphere’s observability platform with Cortex AgentiX. This combination is intended to allow AI agents to identify and remediate security and IT issues automatically before they affect customers or business performance.

The company positions deep observability as a prerequisite for effective AI security, enabling context across models, prompts, users, and system performance. This integration is designed to reduce reliance on manual investigation and move toward autonomous remediation.

Executive perspectives on platform consolidation

Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, stated that enterprises are increasingly seeking fewer vendors and deeper platform partnerships for mission-critical operations. He noted that Chronosphere supports the company’s objective of delivering a unified platform for securing and operating cloud and AI environments, with visibility as a core capability.

Martin Mao, Co-founder and CEO of Chronosphere, who joins Palo Alto Networks as SVP and GM of Observability, said the combination allows AI-era observability to reach a broader global audience. He emphasized the convergence of observability, security, and AI as a means for organizations to maintain control over their data at scale.

Telemetry Pipeline and cost efficiency

Chronosphere’s Telemetry Pipeline will continue to be available as a standalone offering. The pipeline acts as an intelligent control layer that filters low-value telemetry data, reducing data volumes by 30 percent or more while requiring significantly less infrastructure than legacy approaches.

This capability aligns with Palo Alto Networks’ Cortex XSIAM strategy, which focuses on enabling customers to scale their security operations without proportionally increasing costs as they transition toward AI-driven, autonomous environments.

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