Cloudflare vs Palo Alto Networks: Founders, CEOs and History
Cloudflare was founded in 2009 by Matthew Prince, Michelle Zatlyn, Lee Holloway and is led by Matthew Prince. Palo Alto Networks was founded in 2005 by Nir Zuk and is led by Nikesh Arora.
Company facts
Cloudflare
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Current CEO
- Matthew Prince
- Employees
- 5,156
Palo Alto Networks
- Founded
- 2005
- Headquarters
- Santa Clara, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Nikesh Arora
- Employees
- 16,068
Founders
Cloudflare
Matthew Prince
Matthew Prince is Cloudflare's co-founder, CEO, and board chair. In 2004 he and Lee Holloway built Project Honey Pot, which let website owners track spammers harvesting email addresses but could not stop them.
Michelle Zatlyn
Michelle Zatlyn is Cloudflare's co-founder, President, and Chief Operating Officer, and a member of its board. She met Matthew Prince at Harvard Business School, where the two developed the business plan that became Cloudflare in 2009.
Lee Holloway
Lee Holloway co-founded Cloudflare in 2009 and was its first lead engineer and systems architect. He had earlier built Project Honey Pot with Matthew Prince starting in 2004, and he designed much of Cloudflare's early software infrastructure.
Palo Alto Networks
Nir Zuk
Nir Zuk is the Israeli-American engineer who founded Palo Alto Networks in 2005 and has served as its chief technology officer.
CEOs and their tenures
Cloudflare
- Matthew Prince2009–present
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chair
Co-founded Cloudflare in 2009, led it through its September 2019 NYSE IPO, and has grown annual revenue past $2 billion (2025) while expanding from web security into Zero Trust, developer, and AI services.
Source - Michelle Zatlyn2009–present
Co-Founder, President, and Chief Operating Officer
Co-founded Cloudflare in 2009 with Matthew Prince and Lee Holloway and, as President and COO, has led operations and company-building as Cloudflare scaled to more than 5,000 employees.
Source - Thomas Seifert2017–present
Chief Financial Officer
Has led Cloudflare's finance organization since 2017, including its 2019 IPO.
Source
Palo Alto Networks
- Mark McLaughlin2011–2018
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Became vice chairman when Nikesh Arora took over on June 6, 2018.
Source - Nikesh Arora2018–present
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Since 2018, Arora has led more than a dozen acquisitions, moved the revenue mix toward subscriptions, launched the 2024 platformization strategy and closed the $25 billion CyberArk deal.
Source - Dipak Golechha2021–present
Chief Financial Officer
Oversees financial guidance including the target of a 40% adjusted free cash flow margin in fiscal 2028.
Source
Timeline: Cloudflare and Palo Alto Networks side by side
2005Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks Founded by Nir Zuk
Nir Zuk incorporates Palo Alto Networks in Santa Clara, California, developing application-aware network security architectures.
2007Palo Alto Networks
First Next-Generation Firewall (PA-4000 Series) Released
Palo Alto Networks ships the industry's first commercial Next-Generation Firewall, providing deep packet inspection and application identification via App-ID.
2009Cloudflare
Cloudflare Founded
Matthew Prince, Michelle Zatlyn, and Lee Holloway founded Cloudflare, building on the Project Honey Pot spam-tracking project.
2010Cloudflare
TechCrunch Disrupt Launch
Cloudflare launched publicly at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in September 2010, offering free website protection and acceleration.
2012Palo Alto Networks
Initial Public Offering on the NYSE
Palo Alto Networks lists on the NYSE under ticker PANW at $42 per share, raising about $260 million. It later moved its listing to Nasdaq in 2021.
2014Cloudflare
Universal SSL and Project Galileo
Cloudflare gave free SSL certificates to all customers with Universal SSL and launched Project Galileo to protect at-risk nonprofits and journalists for free.
2017Cloudflare
Cloudflare Workers Announced
Cloudflare introduced Workers, a serverless platform built on V8 isolates that lets developers run code across its network.
2018Palo Alto Networks
Nikesh Arora Appointed CEO
Former Google and SoftBank executive Nikesh Arora assumes leadership as CEO, initiating an aggressive multi-billion-dollar cloud security acquisition wave.
2019Cloudflare
NYSE IPO
Cloudflare completed its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker NET in September 2019 at $15 per share, raising about $525 million.
2019Palo Alto Networks
Prisma Cloud and Cortex Suites Launched
The company unifies its cloud security and AI-driven security operations center (SOC) capabilities into Prisma Cloud and Cortex platforms alongside Strata firewalls.
2020Cloudflare
Cloudflare One Launched
Cloudflare bundled its Zero Trust access, secure web gateway, and network services into Cloudflare One, its SASE platform.
2022Cloudflare
Area 1 Security and R2 General Availability
Cloudflare acquired email security company Area 1 Security for about $162 million and made R2 zero-egress object storage generally available.
2024Cloudflare
Revenue Reaches $1.67 Billion
Cloudflare reported 2024 revenue of $1.67 billion and free cash flow of $166.9 million.
2024Palo Alto Networks
Enterprise 'Platformization' Acceleration
In February 2024 the company cut guidance to fund platformization incentives, offering customers free periods to consolidate onto its platforms; the stock fell about 28% the next day.
2025Cloudflare
Revenue Passes $2 Billion
Cloudflare reported 2025 revenue of $2.17 billion (+29.8%) and closed its largest contract ever, averaging $42.5 million per year in ACV.
2025Palo Alto Networks
Fiscal 2025 revenue of $9.22 billion
Revenue grew 15% to $9.22 billion with GAAP net income of $1.13 billion; in July 2025 the company agreed to buy CyberArk.
2026Cloudflare
VoidZero Acquisition and Growth Acceleration
Cloudflare acquired VoidZero, the company behind the Vite JavaScript tooling ecosystem, in June 2026 and reported Q2 2026 revenue growth of 36%.
2026Palo Alto Networks
CyberArk and Chronosphere acquisitions close
Palo Alto completed the $3.35 billion Chronosphere deal in January 2026 and the roughly $25 billion CyberArk deal in February 2026, adding observability and identity security.
2026Palo Alto Networks
Fiscal 2026 revenue of $11.48 billion
Revenue rose 24.5% to $11.48 billion and NGS ARR rose 63% to $9.10 billion for the year ended July 31, 2026.
Acquisitions
Cloudflare
- Human Native2026Undisclosed
- Astro Technology Company2026Undisclosed
- VoidZero2026Undisclosed
- Replicate2025Undisclosed
- Nefeli Networks2024Undisclosed
- Baselime2024Undisclosed
Palo Alto Networks
- CyberArk2026$25B
- Chronosphere2026$3.4B
- Talon Cyber Security2023$625M
- Dig Security2023$400M
- Bridgecrew2021$156M
Questions about Cloudflare vs Palo Alto Networks
Who is the CEO of Cloudflare, Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, Inc.?
Cloudflare, Inc. is led by Matthew Prince and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is led by Nikesh Arora. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Cloudflare, Inc. founded vs Palo Alto Networks, Inc.?
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. was founded in 2005 — 4 years before Cloudflare, Inc., which was founded in 2009. Palo Alto Networks, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Cloudflare, Inc..
How many employees does Cloudflare, Inc. have compared to Palo Alto Networks, Inc.?
Cloudflare, Inc. employs approximately 5,156 people, while Palo Alto Networks, Inc. employs approximately 16,068. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has the larger workforce at 16,068 employees, compared to Cloudflare, Inc.'s 5,156. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Cloudflare, Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. headquartered?
Both Cloudflare, Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Cloudflare, Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, Inc.?
Cloudflare, Inc. was founded by Matthew Prince, Michelle Zatlyn, Lee Holloway. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. was founded by Nir Zuk.
Which company has a longer operating history — Cloudflare, Inc. or Palo Alto Networks, Inc.?
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has been operating for approximately 21 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Cloudflare, Inc. has been in operation for around 17 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Cloudflare vs Palo Alto Networks overview