Oak raises $60M to unify user, machine, and AI agent identity

What happened?

Oak, an Israeli cybersecurity startup, has announced a $60 million seed funding round, the largest ever recorded for this type of round according to PitchBook data. The company, which operated in stealth mode, presents its platform as an "identity operating system" capable of unified management of human user identities, devices, and artificial intelligence agents. The round was led by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, two of Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firms, underscoring confidence in Oak's vision. The startup was founded by former executives of Palo Alto Networks and Wiz, high-profile Israeli cybersecurity companies, lending technical credibility to the project.

Why is it important?

Oak's proposal addresses a growing problem: in modern enterprises, access permissions have multiplied uncontrollably. According to CrowdStrike's 2024 threat report, 80% of security incidents involve compromised credentials. With the proliferation of autonomous AI agents, the problem worsens: how do you audit which agent accessed which data and on whose orders? Oak proposes a centralized system that assigns unique identities to each entity (person, machine, or agent) and manages access policies in real time. The platform promises to reduce the attack surface by eliminating orphan accounts and excessive permissions, a problem affecting 60% of companies according to a CyberArk study. Additionally, Oak offers single sign-on (SSO) that also covers AI agents working on behalf of users, addressing a gap in traditional IAM solutions.

Context and comparisons

The identity and access management (IAM) market is dominated by giants like Okta, Microsoft Azure AD, and Ping Identity, but none have natively integrated AI agent identity management. Oak also competes with startups like Auth0 (acquired by Okta) and cybersecurity solutions like CrowdStrike, though the latter focus on endpoints rather than identity. The $60M seed round is unusual: according to Crunchbase, the average seed round in cybersecurity in 2025 was $4.2 million. This indicates investor confidence that Oak solves an emerging but critical problem. For perspective, Oak's round is comparable to Wiz's seed stage ($50 million in 2020), which later became a unicorn valued at $10 billion. However, Oak has no public customers or reported revenue yet, adding uncertainty. The technology is in beta, and the product is expected to be commercially available in 2026.

Implications for businesses and users

For businesses, Oak promises to reduce the attack surface by eliminating orphan accounts and excessive permissions, a problem costing organizations an average of $3.8 million per incident according to IBM. For users, it means single sign-on (SSO) that also covers AI agents working on their behalf. However, centralizing identities also creates risks: if Oak is compromised, an attacker could control all identities. The company claims to use end-to-end encryption and zero-trust architecture, but history shows that even companies like Okta have suffered breaches (in 2022, an attack affected 366 customers). Moreover, AI identity management raises ethical questions: who is responsible if a misconfigured AI agent causes harm? Oak will need to address these aspects to gain market trust.

What readers should know

Oak has no public customers or reported revenue yet. Its technology is in beta. The startup was founded by former executives of Palo Alto Networks and Wiz. The round was led by Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, lending credibility. The product is expected to be commercially available in 2026. According to The Next Web, the company has been developing the platform for two years and plans to use the funds to hire talent and accelerate development. The IAM market was valued at $16 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to $28 billion by 2029, according to MarketsandMarkets, offering ample room for Oak to position itself. However, competition is fierce and execution will be key.

"Identity is the new security perimeter. But with the arrival of AI agents, that perimeter has become blurred. Oak seeks to give it structure." — Gartner analyst cited by The Next Web.

Conclusion

Oak represents a bold bet on a future where non-human identities outnumber human ones. If it succeeds, it could redefine enterprise cybersecurity. If it fails, it will be a costly reminder that decentralized identity remains a challenge. The record $60 million seed round is an indicator that investors believe in the vision, but the path to mass adoption is fraught with technical and market obstacles. The next two years will be crucial for Oak to prove that its "identity operating system" can scale and protect businesses in the age of AI.