Fortinet has expanded its FortiGate G series with the FortiGate 3500G and FortiGate 400G. These two firewalls are aimed at protecting AI-related traffic across data centers and enterprise edge networks.
The announcement comes as companies grapple with increased volumes of encrypted traffic, increased east-west data movement within networks, and expanded use of AI tools across distributed systems.
These two systems are designed to address a common challenge in corporate networks: the performance impact that can occur when advanced inspection and security controls are enabled. In the midrange firewall segment, Fortinet positions the 3500G for data center environments and the 400G for enterprise edge deployments.
Both products run on Fortinet’s FortiOS software and use the company’s NP7 and SP5 processors. They combine traffic inspection, threat intelligence, and hardware-based integrity controls in a single platform.
AI focus
Central to the expansion is increased oversight of AI usage within organizations. Fortinet says the FortiGate 3500G and 400G include native shadow AI detection capabilities, giving security teams visibility into AI application abuse and controls to protect sensitive data.
FortiGuard AI-powered security services are used to identify and prioritize threats and automate protective actions. FortiOS 8.0 adds inspection of MCP and agent-to-agent traffic, aimed at giving customers more control over AI-related data flow and access.
The data center model is built around high-capacity connectivity and hardware-based trust features. Fortinet says the 3500G offers 400Gb connectivity and is targeted at organizations facing increased internal traffic volumes, zero trust requirements, and heavier AI workloads in high-density environments.
It also includes hardware-level validation, secure firmware enforcement, and system-level transparency measures designed to allow customers to verify the integrity of their security infrastructure rather than relying on assumed trust.
edge system
At the enterprise edge, 400G is intended as an upgrade path for existing FortiGate users who want new hardware without significant operational changes. This model maintains interface consistency across a broad portfolio, making it easier for network and security teams to standardize management across sites.
400G is designed for distributed environments where applications span data centers, cloud systems, and edge locations. With these settings, older firewalls can struggle to maintain throughput when inspection features such as intrusion prevention, application control, and malware protection are enabled.
Fortinet Founder, Chairman of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer Ken Shih tied the launch to broader changes in enterprise infrastructure.
“Organizations modernizing their infrastructure for AI-driven workloads and increasingly distributed environments need a security platform that can deliver both performance and protection at scale,” said Ken Shih, Founder, Chairman of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer of Fortinet.
He said the latest additions are aimed at helping customers simplify how they build and secure these environments.
“Our FortiGate G-Series expansion reflects our commitment to helping customers simplify their architectures, reduce complexity, and secure their AI deployments from the data center to the enterprise edge,” said Xie.
single platform
The announcement also highlights Fortinet’s long-standing commitment to unifying networking and security capabilities under a single management and operational framework. The two new systems are part of the company’s broader Security Fabric approach, which combines FortiOS, FortiManager, FortiAnalyser, and threat intelligence from FortiGuard Labs.
This structure is intended to provide organizations with a centralized way to manage policy, visibility, and incident response across hybrid environments. For large enterprises running separate systems across branch sites, campuses, cloud deployments, and data centers, this type of integration is often presented as a way to reduce the number of security tools in use and simplify operations.
Fortinet did not disclose pricing. The company said performance comparisons in the document are based on enabling firewalls, intrusion prevention, application controls, malware protection, and logging, and that competitor numbers are derived from publicly available information.
The power consumption numbers in the comparison material are taken from external datasheets and hardware guides using maximum power consumption values.
For buyers, the importance of the new model will depend on maintaining inspection rates as AI traffic and encrypted workloads continue to increase within enterprise networks. According to Fortinet, these products are intended to enable organizations to apply tighter controls across their hybrid infrastructure while maintaining operational consistency from the data center to the edge.
