Cisco is reportedly in advanced talks to acquire Israeli cybersecurity company Axonius for approximately $2 billion, according to sources speaking to Calcalist. The potential acquisition fits into Cisco’s broader strategy of investing heavily in strengthening its enterprise security offering in recent years. However, Axonius denies that negotiations are actually taking place.
Axonius was previously valued at $2.6 billion and operates in the field of cyber asset management, a market segment that is becoming increasingly important as organizations try to get a grip on their entire attack surface. A similar company, Armis, was acquired by ServiceNow last month for $7.75 billion. Whether the talks will actually lead to a deal is uncertain, as Axonius publicly denies that negotiations are taking place and indicates that it is focusing on autonomous growth.
Since its inception, Axonius has raised nearly $600 million in multiple funding rounds. Investors include Accel, Silver Lake, Bessemer Venture Partners, Iconiq Capital, and Alkeon Capital. In November last year, the company announced a reorganization that resulted in the loss of approximately 100 jobs in Israel and the United States. Axonius previously expanded its technology portfolio with the acquisition of Cynerio, a specialist in securing medical equipment within hospitals.
Axonius was founded in New York in 2017 by Dean Sysman, Ofri Shur, and Avidor Bartov, all of whom have backgrounds in Israeli elite cyber units. The company focuses specifically on cyber asset attack surface management and positions its platform as a complement to existing security and IT tools, not as a replacement for them. The platform connects to hundreds of data sources, including endpoint security, identity and access management, cloud environments, vulnerability scanners, and network tools, and brings this information together in a single normalized overview.
No software on endpoints
An important technical distinction is that Axonius is agentless. No software needs to be installed on endpoints to make assets visible, which means that even unknown, unmanaged, or forgotten systems are mapped. It is precisely these assets that constitute a blind spot within traditional security models in many organizations.
In addition to insight, the platform also offers opportunities for automation and enforcement. Security and IT teams can define policies that automatically trigger actions when assets no longer comply with established security policies. Examples include isolating devices, disabling accounts, or creating tickets in IT service management systems. According to SiliconANGLE, Axonius is also increasingly using artificial intelligence to better align security decisions with business objectives and operational resilience.
If Cisco proceeds with the acquisition despite its denials, Axonius would be a strategic addition to Cisco’s broader security portfolio, particularly in the areas of visibility, automation, and management of complex IT environments.