Why Pangea’s acquisition by CrowdStrike is a great outcome
At Ballistic, we invest with a clear thesis: back the very best teams with the most transformative technology to tackle cybersecurity’s toughest challenges. When we invested back in Pangea back in 2022, I wrote about it then and it remains true today: Pangea has always embodied our thesis.
Today’s news that Crowdstrike will acquire Pangea is an exciting new milestone. The outcome not only underscores for our initial investment thesis, but it also validates Pangea’s original vision, sharp market insight, and ability to adapt – all while signaling where the industry is headed. We couldn’t be more thrilled for Co-founders Oliver Friedrichs and Sourabh Satish and the entire Pangea team.
Betting on the team
From the start, we were drawn to the caliber of the co-founders, Oliver and Sourabh. This pair brought a proven track record of building and scaling category-defining security companies. Their prior venture, Phantom, was acquired by Splunk, and both had decades of experience solving hard security problems. We knew they were exactly the kind of entrepreneurs we look to back: visionary, execution-driven, and deeply committed to customers.
A powerful tech stack
Our thesis also rests on investing in great products. Sourabh architected a remarkable tech stack at Pangea, one that was modern and built for scale.
Pangea tackled a challenge that every developer faces: how to easily embed security into applications. While cloud providers like AWS and GCP made it simple to add compute, storage, and networking through APIs, there was no equivalent for security. Developers were forced to either build from scratch or patch together enterprise products never designed for them.
Aligning on the vision
From day one, their vision was bold. It was never about just building another security solution, but about building a foundation that developers could rely on to integrate security into their applications.
Just as Auth0 transformed authentication (before becoming a great outcome for Okta), Pangea sought to do the same for application security. The model mirrored other platform successes, like Twilio for communications APIs or Stripe for billing APIs, but applied to security. With Pangea, developers could now call security functions through a unified API framework, saving time and enabling stronger protections across applications.
Adapting to the market and the rise of AI
What made Pangea’s story even more compelling was the team’s ability to anticipate market shifts. As enterprises began adopting AI and LLMs, Oliver, Sourabh, and their team recognized the urgent need for security in this new domain. Developers required APIs not just for traditional application security, but for AI safety, governance, and risk remediation.
Rather than standing still, Pangea expanded its platform to meet that need. They extended their API framework to help developers safely develop and deploy AI systems, positioning themselves at the heart of one of the most transformative tech shifts of our time. The market response was immediate, underscoring the strength of their strategy and execution.
It’s also worth pointing out here that we see the market opportunities around AI safety, AI governance, and AI risk management as enormous – and growing rapidly. At Ballistic, we’re proud to have backed some incredible companies tackling these challenges, Pangea included.
We couldn’t be prouder of the Pangea team and what they’ve accomplished. Their journey validates our belief that when you pair phenomenal teams with groundbreaking tech, the result is lasting impact. This acquisition is a win for Oliver, Sourabh, their team, and the customers who will continue to benefit from their innovation under CrowdStrike.