CrowdStrike agrees to acquire AI security startups Fiddler AI and Dreadnode for $495 million
CrowdStrike has agreed to acquire agent observability firm Fiddler AI and automated testing startup Dreadnode for a combined $495 million, bolstering its Falcon platform with tools to monitor, test, and control autonomous AI agents.
CrowdStrike has reached agreements to buy AI security startups Fiddler AI and Dreadnode for roughly $495 million, according to reports from Wall St Engine and The Wall Street Journal. The transactions value Fiddler AI at approximately $400 million and Dreadnode at around $95 million, with consideration structured primarily in cash alongside some stock.[1][2]
The dual acquisitions aim to expand CrowdStrike's Falcon platform across the full operational lifecycle of AI agents. Fiddler AI specializes in agent observability by tracking decisions, auditing tool usage, and spotting issues such as hallucinations, behavioral drift, and unintended actions. Dreadnode evaluates AI models, applications, and agents for security flaws prior to deployment, deploying over 100 attack techniques that include prompt injections, jailbreaks, and agent-specific exploits.[1]
CrowdStrike intends to rebrand and integrate Fiddler AI as Falcon Observe while folding Dreadnode's capabilities into Falcon as automated AI security testing. Both feature sets, as well as the closing of both acquisitions, are slated for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027.[1]
Separately, CrowdStrike introduced an AI Kill Switch inside Falcon Guardian. The feature is currently available through the company's AI Gateway, with plans to roll out endpoint-level termination later. It allows security teams to shut down malfunctioning agents, cut their network access, and block them from restarting.[1]
Key facts
- CrowdStrike agreed to acquire Fiddler AI for about $400 million and Dreadnode for about $95 million, totaling $495 million.
- Deal payments will be made primarily in cash with some stock.
- Fiddler AI provides agent observability to track agent actions, decisions, tool usage, hallucinations, and behavioral drift.
- Dreadnode tests AI models and agents using more than 100 attack vectors, including jailbreaks and prompt injections.
- CrowdStrike plans to integrate Fiddler as Falcon Observe and Dreadnode as automated testing within Falcon, targeting general availability in Q4 FY27.
- Both acquisitions are scheduled to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027.
- CrowdStrike also introduced an AI Kill Switch in Falcon Guardian via AI Gateway to terminate misbehaving agents, with endpoint-level controls planned.
Sources · 2 sources
- WS
Wall St Engine@wallstenginePost on X ·
CROWDSTRIKE TO ACQUIRE TWO AI SECURITY STARTUPS FOR $495M $CRWD has agreed to acquire Fiddler AI and Dreadnode as it expands its Falcon platform to secure AI agents throughout their lifecycle. The acquisitions, include: 1) Fiddler AI (~$400M) | Agent Observability: Monitors AI agents, tracks their decisions and tool usage, and explains why they took certain actions. It can also identify hallucinations, behavioral drift and unintended actions. 2) Dreadnode (~$95M) | AI Security Testing: Tests AI models, applications and agents for vulnerabilities before deployment, using more than 100 attack strategies, including jailbreaks, prompt injection and agent-specific attacks. The deals come as companies increasingly deploy autonomous AI agents with access to corporate systems, often faster than security teams can establish proper controls. One major challenge is that an AI agent can have valid credentials and authorized access but still make incorrect decisions, ignore instructions or take unintended actions without being hacked. Separately, CrowdStrike also introduced an AI Kill Switch within Falcon Guardian, allowing security teams to terminate misbehaving agents, prevent them from restarting and revoke their network access. The feature is available through the AI Gateway today, with endpoint-level termination planned. CrowdStrike plans to integrate Fiddler as Falcon Observe, while Dreadnode will add automated AI security testing to Falcon. Both capabilities are expected to become generally available in Q4 FY27. The broader strategy is to bring AI security testing, agent monitoring and real-time intervention into a single platform, covering what agents are allowed to do, what they actually do and how to stop them when something goes wrong. Both acquisitions are expected to close in Q4 FY27, with payments primarily in cash and some stock.
Open source - TE
Techmeme@TechmemePost on X ·
CrowdStrike agrees to buy Fiddler AI, which helps monitor AI agents, for ~$400M, and Dreadnode, an automated security AI testing tool, for ~$95M, mostly in cash (@jimrundle / Wall Street Journal) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)
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