Okta Secures Multimillion Dollar AI Agent Deals, Upwind Raises $400M

Key Takeaways

• Okta closed dozens of AI agent security deals in Q2 fiscal 2027, several worth over $1 million, including a deal with a Fortune 50 healthcare company.
• Upwind raised $400 million in a Series C round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, bringing total funding to over $800 million.
• Madison area businesses report AI adoption at 83%, up from 79%, with fully integrated use growing from 10% to 15%.
• Chamath Palihapitiya says 1% of companies drive 90% of AI spending, mostly from unprofitable VC-backed startups.
• Alphabet shares fell over 10% after missing earnings expectations, while Microsoft shares rose with Azure revenue growing 48%.
• Fortinet fell about 22% and ServiceNow dropped about 27% after weak guidance despite AI-related deals and partnerships.
• VVV surged over 1,400% in 2024 among trading and AI tokens, though volatility remains high.
• iTrustCapital launched Q, an AI-powered crypto trading strategy tool for automatic buying and selling of major cryptocurrencies.
• LiveSearch benchmark shows about 70% of financial AI agent answers change within three days, highlighting the need for real-time data.
• Sonar's Gitar tool catches business logic bugs in code review that traditional static analysis can miss.

Okta expands AI agent security platform with new tools and acquisitions

Okta reported dozens of AI agent security deals in the second quarter of fiscal 2027, including several worth over $1 million. A Fortune 50 healthcare company chose Okta to secure AI agents across human and non-human identities. The company launched Agent Gateway, Okta for AI Agents Core and Agent SSO. Okta also acquired Permiso to detect threats involving AI agent identities. The company works with Anthropic, AWS and OpenAI but says the business is still too small to affect fiscal 2027 revenues.

Okta positions identity platform for growing enterprise AI agent use

Okta is building an identity security platform to help companies manage AI agents across applications and clouds. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, it won multiple AI agent security deals worth more than $1 million, including a multimillion-dollar deal with a Fortune 50 healthcare company. It added Agent Gateway, Okta for AI Agents Core and Agent SSO. Okta also completed its acquisition of Permiso. The company serves over 20,000 customers and partners with Anthropic, AWS and OpenAI, though AI agent security has not yet had a major impact on revenues.

Okta sees rising demand for AI agent identity security tools

Okta is expanding its identity security products to meet demand from companies using AI agents. During the second quarter of fiscal 2027, Okta closed dozens of AI agent security deals, several worth more than $1 million, including a deal with a Fortune 50 healthcare company. New products include Agent Gateway, Okta for AI Agents Core and Agent SSO. Okta bought Permiso to help detect identity threats. It partners with Anthropic, AWS and OpenAI, but management says the AI agent security business is still too small to affect fiscal 2027 revenues.

AI stocks fall after Alphabet earnings miss expectations

Technology stocks dropped worldwide after Alphabet reported earnings that missed Wall Street expectations despite strong cloud sales. Alphabet shares fell over 10% before trading began, dragging other AI-related stocks lower. Weak search sales raised concerns about how fast Alphabet can make money from AI-powered search. Samsung Electronics reported a ninefold rise in operating profit but its shares still fell. Nasdaq futures dropped 1.1%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.15% and Dow Jones futures rose 0.6%. Investors also watched Federal Reserve comments and awaited rate decisions from the European Central Bank.

US stock futures mixed as Alphabet falls and Microsoft gains

US stock index futures were mixed on Thursday as investors reviewed tech earnings and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's comments on AI spending. Nasdaq futures fell 1.3%, S&P 500 futures dropped 0.5% and Dow Jones futures rose 0.3%. Alphabet shares fell over 10% after reporting results below expectations, with advertising revenue growth slowing. Alphabet spent $51.4 billion on capital expenditure. Microsoft shares rose after revenue reached $92.28 billion and Azure revenue grew 48%. Samsung Electronics shares fell more than 4% after its semiconductor division reported lower operating profit.

Trading and AI tokens outpace Bitcoin in 2024 with VVV surging over 1,400%

Trading, AI, and privacy tokens outperformed Bitcoin in 2024. VVV led gains with a 1,431% rise driven by trading fees and buybacks. NEAR and GRASS rose strongly among AI tokens, while ZEC and XMR gained in the privacy sector. The data shows growing investor interest in specialized token categories. However, volatility remains high, with VVV down 7.32% in the last day as of late October 2026.

Madison businesses increase AI adoption to 83% in latest survey

Madison area businesses using AI rose from 79% to 83% in a recent Next Normal Workgroup survey. Fully integrated AI use grew from 10% to 15%, while minimal integration fell from 58% to 54%. Company leaders say urgency drives adoption as competitors use AI to cut costs or improve services. Employees now use tools like Claude and ChatGPT for daily tasks. Measuring AI success remains difficult, with some benefits like customer satisfaction hard to quantify.

Upwind raises $400 million to strengthen AI security platform

Upwind secured a $400 million Series C round led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Every existing backer returned, including Greylock Partners and Salesforce Ventures, with Canapi Ventures joining as a new investor. The funding will expand product and engineering teams focused on protecting cloud and AI infrastructure. Upwind now has over $800 million in total funding. The company also launched three AI agents, including Blue, Red, and Green, to help security teams find and fix threats faster.

Chamath Palihapitiya says 1% of companies drive 90% of AI spending

Chamath Palihapitiya stated that 1% of companies account for 90% of AI spending, with 80% coming from unprofitable VC-backed startups. He described a circular flow where venture capital funds startups, which buy tokens and cloud capacity, feeding suppliers like chipmakers and data center firms. Expected AI data center spending could reach 845 billion dollars in 2026 and 1.4 trillion in 2027. He warned that if venture funding slows, AI suppliers will feel the impact months later. Retirees should check how much of their portfolio depends on AI infrastructure spending.

iTrustCapital launches Q, an AI-powered crypto trading strategy tool

iTrustCapital introduced Q, a set of AI-formulated quantitative trading strategies for crypto investors. Q lets clients pick rules-based strategies that automatically buy or sell BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, or LINK when market conditions are met. No coding or external bots are required since the strategies run inside the iTrustCapital platform. Options include the Quantum family with varying altcoin exposure and single-crypto strategies for BTC, ETH, SOL, or XRP. The tool monitors price trends, volatility, and market cycles to act on the user's behalf around the clock.

Wall Street stops forgiving AI software misses

Wall Street punished AI-related stocks after weak guidance from Fortinet and ServiceNow. Fortinet fell about 22% after trimming its full-year service revenue guidance below analyst expectations. ServiceNow dropped about 27% despite beating Q3 revenue, because it missed earnings and gave weak Q4 guidance. Both companies tried to highlight AI deals and partnerships, but investors focused on missed bookings and soft outlook.

LiveSearch tests financial AI agents with live data

LiveSearch is a new benchmark that tests financial search agents using up-to-date data instead of fixed answers. Each question is stored as executable code that calls a professional financial data service at evaluation time. The benchmark shows that about 70% of answers change over three days, so old snapshots fail quickly. It aims to measure whether AI models can truly search and analyze current financial information.

Sonar's Gitar catches business logic bugs in code review

Sonar's Gitar is a tool that finds business rule mistakes that traditional code review and static analysis can miss. It uses rules defined in markdown files to check code intent, such as pricing logic or ticket refund policies. Gitar can flag violations automatically during pull requests and pipeline checks. The tool integrates with GitHub and works alongside SonarQube and Vortex in the development process.

Sources

• Can Okta's Agent Identity Platform Capture the AI Security Opportunity?
• Can Okta's Agent Identity Platform Capture the AI Security Opportunity?
• Can Okta's Agent Identity Platform Capture the AI Security Opportunity?
• AI Stocks Fall After Alphabet Earnings Disappoint
• US Stock Futures Mixed as Alphabet Falls, Microsoft Gains and Fed Comments Draw Attention to AI Spending: Dow Jones, S&P, Nasdaq, Wall Street
• Trading, AI, and privacy tokens outperform Bitcoin in 2024, with VVV leading gains at 1,431%.
• Madison area businesses report increased AI use, up 4% from 2025
• Upwind’s $400m Series C raises the stakes in AI security
• Chamath Says Just 1% of Companies Drive 90% of AI Spending. Here's Why That Matters for Your Portfolio
• iTrustCapital's Next Chapter Goes Beyond More Investments. Meet Q, AI-Formulated Quantitative Trading Strategies
• Wall Street Is Done Giving AI Software a Pass
• LiveSearch: Questions as Executable Verifier Code for a Live Benchmark of Professional-Source Financial Search Agents
• Sonar's Gitar fixes what code review misses