In a landmark move that signals a profound shift in the convergence of enterprise workflow and proactive cybersecurity, ServiceNow has announced an agreement to acquire Armis, a leader in cyber exposure management and cyber-physical security, for approximately $7.75 billion in cash. This all-cash transaction represents the largest acquisition in ServiceNow's history and underscores the company’s ambitious strategy to position itself as the 'AI Control Tower' for business reinvention, particularly as the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and connected devices expands the corporate attack surface. The deal is expected to significantly enhance ServiceNow’s security workflow portfolio, with the company projecting that the addition of Armis will more than triple its market opportunity in security and risk solutions.[1][2][3][4]

Armis specializes in providing real-time visibility and risk intelligence across the entire technology estate, which includes assets traditionally considered blind spots for conventional security tools, such as Operational Technology (OT), Internet of Things (IoT), Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), and critical infrastructure systems. The company's platform, Armis Centrix, is an AI-powered cyber exposure management solution built on an enormous, crowdsourced, cloud-based knowledge base that monitors billions of assets globally.[1][5][6][7] This agentless discovery and classification capability is critical because these unmanaged devices, which range from industrial controllers on a factory floor to connected medical devices in a hospital, often cannot support traditional endpoint agents, creating significant exposure gaps that threat actors are increasingly exploiting.[8][4][9][10] By comparing real-time asset behavior against "known-good" baselines established from its vast intelligence engine, Armis Centrix is able to classify assets and detect threats with a high degree of accuracy, a function driven by machine learning and artificial intelligence.[6][11] Armis brings substantial market traction, including over $340 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and a year-over-year ARR growth exceeding 50%, with a customer base that includes over 35% of the Fortune 100.[1][2][12]

The strategic rationale for the acquisition is centered on the imperative to unify real-time asset intelligence with automated workflow remediation, a combination deemed essential for the "agentic AI era." ServiceNow's vision involves connecting Armis's agentless asset discovery, classification, and risk prioritization directly with its core workflow automation, Configuration Management Database (CMDB), and the recently launched AI Control Tower.[1][2][5][13] ServiceNow executives have articulated that the combined platform will create a unified, end-to-end security exposure and operations stack that can see, decide, and act across the entire technology footprint, eliminating the reliance on fragmented security tools.[2][14][7] The integration is expected to bring a "full closed loop" to security operations, giving customers a single, trusted view of cyber risk from detection through automated remediation.[4] By feeding massive volumes of real-time asset data into ServiceNow's CMDB, the company's existing discovery tools are set to become substantially more powerful, providing the granular visibility necessary for intelligent prioritization and automated response.[14][10]

The deal is a direct reflection of the escalating importance of AI-native security, as security remains the number one priority for CEOs navigating increased AI adoption.[1][2][13] The global attack surface is expanding rapidly due to connected devices and autonomous systems, and the acquisition positions ServiceNow to deliver a "strategic cybersecurity shield" built for this new landscape.[1][2] Security spending worldwide is projected to increase significantly, driven largely by rising threats and the expansion of AI and generative AI, highlighting the growing market for the combined company’s integrated platform.[1][13][8] The AI component is not merely a feature, but a fundamental driver of the combined value proposition. Armis’s AI-powered asset intelligence engine, with its ability to map billions of assets and detect deviations from normal behavior, will be critical input for ServiceNow’s broader AI and automation platform.[5][6] This enables the platform to proactively manage AI systems, govern their lifecycles, and secure the underlying connected environments upon which AI agents operate.[5][13][8] For enterprises deploying AI agents that have access to sensitive systems, the comprehensive, real-time asset inventory provided by Armis is a prerequisite for maintaining robust governance and trust.[8][7]

This is not an isolated transaction, but the culmination of an aggressive acquisition strategy by ServiceNow in the cybersecurity and AI space. The Armis deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of the calendar year 2026, is the largest of several recent acquisitions, including identity access provider Veza and agentic AI provider Moveworks.[5][3][9][10] These deals collectively demonstrate a clear ambition to move beyond IT service management and build a holistic, integrated platform that serves as the operating system for the AI-driven enterprise. By combining workflow automation, conversational AI, identity governance, and now, cyber exposure management, ServiceNow is constructing a comprehensive security stack designed to manage the complexity and risks associated with AI at scale.[5][8][4] For the industry, this consolidation signals a strong preference for integrated platforms that can combine real-time security insights with automated operational and remediation workflows, challenging the business models of traditional point-solution security vendors.[15] The combined entity is expected to create a highly competitive force in the market, directly competing with other tech giants that are similarly expanding their security and platform offerings.[15] Ultimately, the success of the merger will depend on ServiceNow's ability to smoothly integrate Armis's technology and high-growth operations into its platform, delivering on the promise of a truly autonomous, proactive cybersecurity posture for a world defined by the proliferation of connected assets and artificial intelligence.[15][4]