Nikesh Arora on Founders podcast: 35 acquisitions built Palo Alto Networks into a $250B security giant

davidsenra · x · 2026-11-08

David Senra's Founders podcast drops a 62-minute interview with Palo Alto Networks chairman/CEO Nikesh Arora.

Key points

Arora spent 10 years at Google as it grew from 2,000 to 60,000 employees and $2B to $62B revenue, then served two years as SoftBank president before joining Palo Alto Networks in 2018, then an $18B firewall company.
He has made 35 acquisitions and expanded to 70+ products, and explains why he buys instead of builds: only the #1 or #2 player in a category, direct negotiation with founders, and a joint product roadmap required before signing.
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