Google Cloud has agreed to a multiyear security services partnership with Palo Alto Networks as enterprise use of AI in cloud environments grows. A source told Reuters the deal is worth close to $10 billion over its lifetime.
The agreement marks Google Cloud’s largest security services deal to date. While financial terms were not disclosed publicly, the scale of the partnership reflects rising concern among enterprises about how quickly AI adoption is expanding attack surfaces in cloud infrastructure.
Those concerns are supported by Palo Alto Networks’ State of Cloud Report, published in December 2025. The report found that 99% of respondents had experienced at least one attack on AI-related infrastructure over the past year. At the same time, organisations are increasing their reliance on cloud platforms to support new AI tools, adding scale and complexity to already stretched security teams.
Securing AI from development to deployment
The expanded partnership focuses on securing AI systems in their full lifecycle, from development through to production. Rather than treating security as a separate layer, the two companies are aiming to integrate protection directly into how AI workloads are built, deployed, and accessed in hybrid and multicloud setups.
A key part of the collaboration involves protecting live AI workloads running on Google Cloud. Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma AIRS platform will be used to secure AI systems operating on services like Vertex AI and Agent Engine. The tools are intended to cover areas including visibility into AI posture, runtime protection, agent behaviour, and model testing. Developer tools, including the Agent Development Kit, are also included, reflecting concern that security gaps often emerge early in the build process.
Network security is another focus. Palo Alto Networks’ VM-Series software firewalls are being integrated more tightly with Google Cloud to help organisations apply consistent security controls in public, private, and hybrid environments. The aim is to reduce friction for teams moving workloads into the cloud while maintaining inspection and threat prevention standards.
The partnership also addresses remote access and distributed work. Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma SASE platform, which combines networking and security for users outside traditional offices, will run more deeply on Google’s infrastructure. Prisma Access operates on Google’s network, while Google Cloud Interconnect is used to link wide-area networks in clouds. Together, this setup is meant to help organisations keep security policies consistent as users access AI applications from different locations.
A deeper operational and commercial tie
Operational simplicity is another stated goal. By pre-engineering integrations between their platforms, the two companies are trying to reduce the manual effort required to connect tools and manage policies. The idea is to give security teams a more unified view in environments, allowing them to move faster without adding complexity.
Palo Alto Networks president BJ Jenkins said boards are increasingly focused on how to use AI without increasing exposure. He described the partnership as a way to reduce the tension between faster development and stronger security, positioning protection as something that becomes part of the platform rather than a blocker. In his words, the goal is to make security “a native part of building what’s next,” with AI-powered defences embedded directly into Google Cloud.
The collaboration builds on an existing relationship that already includes more than 75 joint integrations and roughly $2 billion in sales through the Google Cloud Marketplace. As part of the new phase, Palo Alto Networks is also migrating key internal workloads onto Google Cloud under a separate multibillion-dollar agreement.
The company is additionally using Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform and Gemini large language models to support its internal copilots. The steps deepen the technical ties between the two firms and are intended to ensure that customers running Palo Alto Networks on Google Cloud are using systems designed to work together at scale.
The timing aligns with broader moves in the cybersecurity market. Google has announced plans to acquire Wiz for $32 billion, while Palo Alto Networks expanded its AI-focused security portfolio in October and completed its $3.35 billion acquisition of Chronosphere last month. Both companies are responding to rising concern over AI-driven attack methods and automated threats.
Google Cloud chief sales officer Matt Renner said customers are increasingly looking for security and cloud platforms that work together rather than as separate layers. He framed the expanded partnership as a way to ensure that organisations can secure important AI infrastructure while building new AI agents with protection built in from the start.
Analysts say the deal strengthens Google Cloud’s position in enterprise security and AI infrastructure as it competes with Amazon and Microsoft. The partnership also carries personal history: Palo Alto Networks chief executive Nikesh Arora previously served as Google’s chief business officer.
Taken together, the agreement reflects a broader shift in how enterprises think about AI risk. As AI becomes more embedded in daily operations, security decisions are increasingly tied to platform choices that may shape how organisations build and protect systems for years to come.
(Photo by Scott Graham)
See also: Amazon and Google team up to cut multicloud downtime
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