Daryan Dehghanpisheh

Co-founder at Protect AI
Seattle, Washington

Daryan Dehghanpisheh is currently Co-founder and Director at Protect AI, a startup he founded that has been acquired and where he remains active.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire

Seattle Cybersecurity Startup Protect AI, Founded by Ian Swanson, Acquired by Palo Alto Networks

Seattle-based cybersecurity startup Protect AI, founded by Ian Swanson and co-founders, was acquired by Palo Alto Networks after addressing AI security gaps in enterprises. Swanson leveraged his experience with previous startups and AWS to pivot Protect AI towards securing large-scale machine learning deployments, coinciding with increased AI adoption following ChatGPT's popularity.

Nileena Sunil / The American Bazaar

Palo Alto Networks to acquire Seattle startup Protect AI in deal reported above $500 million

Seattle-based Protect AI, founded in 2022 to secure machine-learning systems and serving Fortune 500 clients, is being acquired by Palo Alto Networks; sources report the deal is worth over $500 million after Protect AI raised $60 million in a 2024 Series B at a $400 million valuation. Palo Alto plans to integrate Protect AI into its Prisma AIRS platform to expand AI security capabilities.

Taylor Soper / GeekWire

Palo Alto Networks to Acquire Seattle AI Cybersecurity Startup Protect AI for Over $500 Million

Palo Alto Networks plans to acquire Seattle-based AI cybersecurity startup Protect AI, founded in 2022, for an estimated $500 million or more, aiming to strengthen its AI security offerings. Protect AI, which serves Fortune 500 clients and recently raised $60 million at a $400 million valuation, focuses on protecting machine learning systems amid rising AI-related breaches.

Organizations

  • Protect AI Director 2024–present, Co-founder · current