Google Cloud has signed a major multiyear security partnership with Palo Alto Networks, a deal one source told Reuters is worth close to $10 billion over its lifetime. While the companies did not disclose financial details, the agreement is believed to be Google Cloud’s largest security services deal to date.
The partnership comes as enterprises rapidly expand their use of AI in cloud environments, raising concerns about new security risks. According to Palo Alto Networks’ State of Cloud Report, 99% of organisations experienced at least one AI-related cloud security incident in the past year, highlighting how fast AI adoption is widening attack surfaces.
Securing AI From Development to Deployment
The expanded collaboration focuses on securing AI systems throughout their entire lifecycle, from development and testing to deployment and runtime. Rather than adding security as an afterthought, Google Cloud and Palo Alto Networks aim to build protections directly into AI platforms.
Palo Alto’s Prisma AIRS platform will help secure AI workloads running on Google Cloud services such as Vertex AI and Agent Engine, covering areas like model testing, runtime protection, agent behaviour, and AI posture visibility. Security tools for developers are also included, addressing risks early in the build process.
Network security is another priority. Palo Alto’s VM-Series firewalls will integrate more deeply with Google Cloud, helping organisations apply consistent protections across public, private, and hybrid environments. The partnership also strengthens secure remote access using Palo Alto’s Prisma SASE platform running on Google’s global network.
Deepening a Long-Standing Relationship
The two companies already have more than 75 joint integrations and have generated roughly $2 billion in marketplace sales together. As part of the new phase, Palo Alto Networks is also migrating key internal workloads to Google Cloud and using Google’s Gemini AI models to power internal security copilots.
Executives from both firms said the goal is to reduce complexity for security teams while allowing organisations to move faster with AI. Google Cloud leaders positioned the deal as a way to embed security directly into AI infrastructure, rather than treating it as a separate layer.
The Bigger Picture
The partnership follows Google’s planned $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity firm Wiz and Palo Alto’s recent expansion of AI-driven security offerings, including its $3.35 billion purchase of Chronosphere. Analysts say the deal strengthens Google Cloud’s position against rivals Amazon and Microsoft as AI reshapes enterprise computing.
Together, the agreement reflects a broader shift in how companies approach AI risk: as AI becomes central to business operations, security is increasingly tied to the cloud platforms organisations choose, and the ecosystems built around them.
