Palo Alto Networks vs SentinelOne: Founders, CEOs and History
Palo Alto Networks was founded in 2005 by Nir Zuk and is led by Nikesh Arora. SentinelOne was founded in 2013 by Tomer Weingarten, Almog Cohen and is led by Tomer Weingarten.
Company facts
Palo Alto Networks
- Founded
- 2005
- Headquarters
- Santa Clara, California, United States
- Current CEO
- Nikesh Arora
- Employees
- 16,068
SentinelOne
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, California
- Current CEO
- Tomer Weingarten
- Employees
- 2,400
Founders
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.
SentinelOne
Tomer Weingarten
Tomer Weingarten co-founded SentinelOne in 2013 and has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors since its inception.
Almog Cohen
Almog Cohen co-founded SentinelOne in 2013 alongside Tomer Weingarten, serving as an early technological architect.
CEOs and their tenures
Palo Alto Networks
- Mark McLaughlin2011–2018
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Serving as CEO from 2011 to 2018, he took the company public and completely established its dominance over legacy rivals like Check Point and Cisco before handing the reins to Nikesh Arora.
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
As CFO, he manages the incredibly complex financial modeling required to transition the massive legacy hardware company completely into a high-margin, cloud-based software subscription behemoth.
Source
SentinelOne
- Tomer Weingarten
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman
- Barbara Larson
Chief Financial Officer
- Dave Bernhardt
Former Chief Financial Officer
- Almog Cohen
Co-Founder
- Ric Smith
Former President of Product, Technology, and Operations
Timeline: Palo Alto Networks and SentinelOne 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.
2011Palo Alto Networks
Mark McLaughlin becomes CEO
Mark McLaughlin became CEO of Palo Alto Networks in 2011. Became vice chairman when Nikesh Arora took over on June 6, 2018.
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.
2013SentinelOne
SentinelOne Founded in Mountain View
Tomer Weingarten and Almog Cohen found SentinelOne to build autonomous on-agent behavioral cybersecurity.
2014Palo Alto Networks
Cyvera Acquired
Palo Alto Networks bought the endpoint-security company Cyvera in 2014 for about $200 million.
2014SentinelOne
Release of First Autonomous Agent
Pioneers on-device machine learning models to detect and block zero-day exploits without signature updates.
2016SentinelOne
Invention of Automated Ransomware Rollback
Introduces proprietary Windows VSS integration allowing instant one-click restoration of encrypted files.
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.
2018SentinelOne
Launch of Storyline Causality Engine
Releases Storyline technology, autonomously tracking OS-level event trees into causal incident graphs.
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.
2020SentinelOne
Launch of Singularity Platform
Unifies endpoint detection (EDR), cloud workload protection, and IoT security into a single XDR platform.
2021SentinelOne
Record-Breaking NYSE Initial Public Offering
Completes the largest cybersecurity IPO in Wall Street history under ticker 'S', raising $1.2 billion.
2021SentinelOne
Acquisition of Scalyr for $155 Million
Acquires high-speed cloud log analytics pioneer Scalyr to build the Singularity Data Lake.
2022SentinelOne
Acquisition of Attivo Networks for $616.5M
Integrates identity threat detection and response (ITDR) and credential deception into Singularity.
2023Palo Alto Networks
Added to the S&P 500
Palo Alto Networks joined the S&P 500 index in June 2023.
2023SentinelOne
Unveils Purple AI Generative Copilot
Pioneers the cybersecurity industry's first embedded generative AI natural language security analyst.
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.
2024SentinelOne
Revenue Exceeds $621M with Positive Free Cash Flow
Generates $621.2M in annual revenue, expands customer base past 11,500, and scales Singularity Cloud.
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.
2025SentinelOne
Acquisition of PingSafe for Cloud Security (CNAPP)
Acquires CNAPP innovator PingSafe to deliver unified agentless and agent-based cloud defense.
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.
2026SentinelOne
Expands Enterprise Autonomous SOC Ecosystem
Scales Purple AI across global enterprise SOCs, driving autonomous incident triaging and threat hunting.
Acquisitions
Palo Alto Networks
- CyberArk2026$25B
- Chronosphere2026$3.4B
- Talon Cyber Security2023$625M
- Dig Security2023$400M
- Bridgecrew2021$156M
SentinelOne
- Observo AI2025Undisclosed
- PingSafe2024$100M
- Krebs Stamos Group2023Undisclosed
- Attivo Networks2022$616.5M
- Scalyr2021$155M
Questions about Palo Alto Networks vs SentinelOne
Who is the CEO of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and SentinelOne?
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is led by Nikesh Arora and SentinelOne is led by Tomer Weingarten. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Palo Alto Networks, Inc. founded vs SentinelOne?
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. was founded in 2005 — 8 years before SentinelOne, which was founded in 2013. Palo Alto Networks, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger SentinelOne.
How many employees does Palo Alto Networks, Inc. have compared to SentinelOne?
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. employs approximately 16,068 people, while SentinelOne employs approximately 2,400. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has the larger workforce at 16,068 employees, compared to SentinelOne's 2,400. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and SentinelOne headquartered?
Both Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and SentinelOne are headquartered in United States. Their local rules and tax obligations may still differ.
Who founded Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and SentinelOne?
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. was founded by Nir Zuk. SentinelOne was founded by Tomer Weingarten, Almog Cohen.
Which company has a longer operating history — Palo Alto Networks, Inc. or SentinelOne?
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has been operating for approximately 21 years, making it the more established of the two companies. SentinelOne has been in operation for around 13 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 Palo Alto Networks vs SentinelOne overview