Aporeto

What Aporeto does

Aporeto was a San Jose, California-based cybersecurity company founded in 2015 that specialized in identity-based, cloud-native security for containers and microservices. The company served enterprises adopting container and microservices architectures, providing security controls designed for dynamic cloud-native workloads where traditional network-based security models were not directly applicable.

Aporeto's product offering centered on applying workload identity and access policies to container and microservices environments, addressing a security gap that conventional tooling was not designed to handle. The solution was positioned for enterprise security teams responsible for protecting cloud-native application deployments, and operated within the broader container-and-microservices security category.

Aporeto operated as a privately held, venture-backed company and raised approximately $34.5 million across three funding rounds between 2015 and 2019, with investors including Wing Venture Capital, Norwest, DCVC, Comcast Ventures, National Grid Partners, and Telia Ventures. In 2019, Aporeto was acquired by Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW), and its technology was incorporated into the Prisma Cloud platform; as a standalone commercial entity, Aporeto no longer operates, and its technology and personnel have been consolidated within Palo Alto Networks' cloud security business unit.

Name

Aporeto

Legal name

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Website

https://aporeto.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Aporeto, founded in 2015 in San Jose, provided identity-based cloud-native security for containers and microservices. Acquired by Palo Alto Networks in 2019, its technology was integrated into the Prisma Cloud platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cloud-Native Security

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Application Performance Engineering & Observability (APM) (BPAEAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) (HDABAJAB)

Keywords

• Cloud-native security
• Container security
• Microservices security
• Identity-based security
• Cloud workload protection

Headquarters

HQ city

San Jose

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Prisma Cloud Subscription: Enterprise security platform sold as subscription licenses with tiered capabilities across code security, infrastructure security, and runtime protection

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Aporeto provided comprehensive cloud-native security for containers and microservices, specializing in identity-based security solutions that protected distributed workloads in modern cloud environments. Founded in 2015, the company raised approximately $34.5 million in venture funding prior to being acquired by Palo Alto Networks in 2019, after which its technology was integrated into the Prisma Cloud platform.

Product overview

Palo Alto Networks offers Prisma Cloud as its core cloud security platform, providing comprehensive Code to Cloud protection across the entire application lifecycle. The platform is built around a unified architecture that secures apps from design to runtime through three key phases: CODE (developer security including IaC, CI/CD, Secrets, and SCA), INFRASTRUCTURE (cloud posture management, API security, CIEM, and workload scanning), and RUNTIME (threat detection, serverless, host, and web application security). Prisma Cloud is powered by Precision AI and processes 1 trillion events daily. The platform also includes Prisma Cloud Copilot for conversational AI assistance, AI SPM for AI security posture management, and integrates with the broader Cortex portfolio including Cortex Cloud (agentic SOC), Cortex XSIAM, XDR, and XSOAR. The company positions Prisma Cloud as a leading CNAPP (Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform) solution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Prisma Cloud: Comprehensive cloud security platform securing apps from design to runtime. Code to Cloud platform that secures apps across code/build, infrastructure, and runtime.
• Cortex Cloud
• Cortex XSIAM
• Cortex XDR
• Cortex XSOAR
• Prisma SASE
• Prisma Access
• Unit 42

Quantifiable outcome

• 35% faster time to patch vulnerabilities
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NextWave Partner ProgramcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal partner ecosystem including resellers, managed security service providers, and system integrators that resell and implement Prisma Cloud solutions

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Sysdig: Sysdig offers runtime container and cloud security built on Falco, competing directly with Aporeto's cloud-native runtime defense in the CNAPP space.
• Lacework: Lacework is a CNAPP peer that built agent-based and polygraph behavioral analytics for cloud workload protection, overlapping directly with Aporeto's runtime cloud-native security pitch.
• Aqua Security: Aqua Security is a direct peer to Aporeto, pioneering container and cloud-native workload security with runtime protection, vulnerability scanning, and microsegmentation—directly competing with the identity-based microservice security Aporeto offered before its PANW acquisition.
• Orca Security: Orca is a CNAPP competitor using agentless side-scanning to cover the same cloud posture, identity, and workload protection territory that Aporeto targeted for containers and microservices.
• Wiz: Wiz is the breakout CNAPP leader with agentless cloud security spanning CSPM, CIEM, CWPP, and workload protection, directly competing with the Prisma Cloud/Aporeto lineage for the same enterprise buyers.
• Twistlock: Twistlock was Aporeto's most direct competitor in container security; PANW acquired both Twistlock and Aporeto in the same 2019 transaction, and Twistlock's technology also feeds into Prisma Cloud, making it a near-twin peer for Aporeto.
• StackRox: StackRox was a direct Aporeto competitor in Kubernetes and container security before being acquired by Red Hat, making it a comparable peer both in product scope and exit trajectory.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Microsoft Defender for Cloud (formerly Defender for Cloud / Cloud Workload Protection) is the default CNAPP-shaped offering for Azure-heavy enterprises and a broad incumbent competing with the Aporeto-derived stack across CSPM, CWPP, and DevSecOps.
• Tenable Cloud Security: Tenable extends its vulnerability-management heritage into cloud workload and posture security, competing with the Aporeto-originated Prisma Cloud line as a broader incumbent across hybrid environments.
• Snyk: Snyk is a broader developer-security platform covering SCA, IaC, and container security; it overlaps with Aporeto's shift-left and code-to-cloud segments though it focuses more on developer workflow than runtime.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aporeto
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/paloaltonetworks
• Facebookfacebook.com/aporeto1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/palo-alto-networks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aporeto