Sophia Nicole Salivio
news editor
Akamai has agreed to acquire LayerX in a deal valued at approximately US$205 million.
The transaction adds browser-based AI usage controls and secure enterprise browser technology to Akamai’s security portfolio, extending protection to web browsers that increasingly use employee-generated AI tools, software-as-a-service applications, and AI agents.
The agreement comes as companies seek to increase oversight of how employees use AI systems in the workplace. Security teams have struggled with limited visibility into prompts, file uploads, and interactions with large language models, especially when these activities occur through standard consumer and workplace browsers.
Rather than requiring businesses to separately deploy their own proprietary browsers, LayerX develops tools that work with widely used browsers. This approach allows organizations to apply control over web and AI usage without requiring employees to switch software or make extensive infrastructure changes.
This acquisition also fits into Akamai’s broader Zero Trust security strategy. LayerX’s browser-level controls work alongside Akamai’s existing Zero Trust network access products, runtime protection for AI applications, and controls for AI inference workloads.
Mani Sundaram, executive vice president and general manager of Akamai’s Security Technology Group, explained the rationale for the acquisition.
“Our customers are adopting AI at record speed, and they’re telling us the same thing: Existing controls don’t provide visibility into how employees are interacting with AI tools and sharing language models at scale,” Sundaram said. “The acquisition of LayerX helps fill that gap and provides Akamai with a control layer to manage AI at the point of use, allowing enterprises to move at the speed of AI without sacrificing safety and compliance.”
browser focus
Much of the recent security discussion around workplace AI focuses on browsers. This is because browsers have become the primary interface for many business tasks. Employees often access external chatbots, built-in AI assistants, and cloud software through their browsers, creating a single point where data can be entered, uploaded, or copied into third-party systems.
Therefore, there is growing interest in products that can directly monitor and restrict activity at that layer. LayerX gives security teams visibility and control when users interact with SaaS applications, including web content, prompts, file uploads, and new so-called agent browsers.
LayerX’s management team will also join Akamai after the transaction closes. Employees, including co-founders Or Eshed and David Vaisbrud, will become part of Akamai’s Zero Trust organization.
For Akamai, the deal gives it further leverage in acquiring cybersecurity companies in Israel. LayerX marks the Tel Aviv-based company’s fourth cybersecurity acquisition in the past five years, further expanding the regional hub that has become a key source of security engineering talent for global technology companies.
Or Eshed, CEO and co-founder of LayerX, said the company sees this integration as a response to growing enterprise security concerns.
“Securing the use of AI by humans and agents has become one of the defining challenges in enterprise security,” Eshed said. “By combining LayerX’s technology with Akamai’s Zero Trust portfolio and the world’s most distributed edge platform, we provide enterprises with the foundation to securely deploy AI on a global scale. We are excited about the opportunity to accelerate our security vision through this transaction.”
financial terms
Under the announced terms, Akamai will acquire all outstanding shares of LayerX for approximately US$205 million, subject to anticipated acquisition price adjustments. The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
The acquisition is expected to reduce Akamai’s non-GAAP earnings per share by approximately $0.12 in fiscal 2026. Additionally, LayerX is expected to have approximately US$10 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of the year.
The acquisition comes amid growing investor attention to Akamai’s AI-related positioning. The company also signed a deal worth $1.8 billion with a major frontier model provider, which sent the stock up more than 25% to a new 52-week high.
While the LayerX deal is small compared to its larger contracts, it shows how Akamai sees customer demand evolving. Security vendors are not only focused on securing networks, infrastructure, and applications, but also on managing how employees and software agents interact with AI services through everyday workplace tools.
This change has created a new market around managing the use of AI, especially for companies that want to allow for AI deployment while limiting data leaks, policy violations, and unauthorized use. Akamai’s entry into this space through LayerX illustrates how established security groups are bridging the gap between browser activity and enterprise security controls.
Rather than requiring organizations to replace their browsers, LayerX supports popular browsers, allowing users to continue using the software they love while providing security teams with more real-time visibility and control.
