Cybersecurity has never been more important or more complicated. As artificial intelligence weaves itself into the fabric of how businesses run, the attack surface keeps growing.
Hackers are moving faster. Threats are harder to detect. And the old playbook simply doesn't work anymore. That's created a genuine opportunity for investors who know where to look.
Nvidia (NVDA) has now partnered with Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Akamai Technologies (AKAM) to push AI-powered security directly into the industrial systems that keep the physical world running, including factories, power grids, pipelines, and data centers.
It's a development that could meaningfully accelerate growth at both companies. And right now, the numbers behind each stock are difficult to ignore.
Nvidia’s Industrial AI Push
The partnership centers on Nvidia's BlueField data processing units, or DPUs. Think of a DPU as a specialized chip that handles security, networking, and storage tasks independently from a server's main processor. By embedding security directly into infrastructure at this level, threats can be stopped before they ever reach a critical system.
Nvidia described the effort plainly, saying it represents "a fundamental shift in OT and ICS cybersecurity, where security is embedded into and distributed across infrastructure, enforced at the edge and coordinated through centralized, AI-driven intelligence."
For Palo Alto Networks, this means embedding its security platform into industrial automation systems running on Nvidia's BlueField chips. For Akamai, it means extending its Guardicore segmentation platform on the same architecture, enabling companies to lock down individual devices, applications, or workloads into tightly controlled security zones and enforce zero-trust policies at the edge.
Zero trust means no device or user is automatically trusted. Every connection gets verified, and this security model is now seen as essential as AI agents begin operating autonomously across corporate networks.
Palo Alto Networks Firing on All Cylinders
The Nvidia partnership could boost PANW stock, which is down 35% from all-time highs. In fiscal Q2 of 2026, it reported revenue of $2.59 billion, up 15% year-over-year (YoY). PANW’s next-generation security annual recurring revenue, or NGS ARR, the metric Wall Street watches most closely, grew 33% to $6.33 billion.
The cybersecurity giant recorded approximately 110 net new "platformizations" in the quarter, its best result outside a seasonally strong fourth quarter. Platformization is Palo Alto's strategy of getting customers to consolidate their security tools onto a single platform. Once customers do that, they tend to spend more over time. Notably, the net retention among these customers stands at 119%.
Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora has been direct about where the opportunity lies. "As AI agents become autonomous employees," he said on the company's earnings call, "the old security playbook is not just slow, it's obsolete."
The company also closed two major acquisitions, CyberArk and Chronosphere, which add identity security and observability capabilities. For full fiscal 2026, management guided for revenue of $11.28 billion to $11.31 billion, representing growth of 22% to 23%.
Out of the 50 analysts covering PANW stock, 35 recommend “Strong Buy,” three recommend “Moderate Buy,” 12 recommend “Hold,” and two recommend “Strong Sell.” The average PANW stock price target is $209.40, above the current price of about $144.
Akamai Widens Its AI Moat
Akamai has long been known for its content delivery network, the infrastructure that keeps websites loading fast. But the company has been quietly building a more compelling growth story in cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, Akamai's Cloud Infrastructure Services (CIS) revenue reached $94 million, up 45% YoY. That's an acceleration from 39% growth in the prior quarter. The company also signed a four-year, $200 million commitment from a major U.S. tech company for its new AI Inference Cloud product, which runs AI models directly at the edge of the internet, close to users.
On the security side, Akamai's API Security business more than doubled YoY and now runs at over $100 million in annualized revenue. Its Guardicore segmentation platform also saw strong demand, landing deals with major financial institutions and telecom operators.
The Nvidia partnership extends Guardicore's reach directly into high-stakes industrial environments where a breach can have real-world consequences, meaningfully expanding the addressable market.
Akamai CEO Tom Leighton said the company sees AI as a tailwind, not a threat: “As enterprises adopt a lot of AI apps and agents, that's a whole new attack surface. And you need special defenses.” For 2026, Akamai guided for total revenue of $4.4 billion to $4.55 billion and expects CIS growth to accelerate to 45% to 50% for the full year.
Out of the 22 analysts covering AKAM stock, 10 recommend “Strong Buy,” one recommends “Moderate Buy,” nine recommend “Hold,” and two recommend “Strong Sell.” The average AKAM stock price target is $102.70, above the current price of about $99.
Both stocks carry real momentum heading into what could be a breakout period for AI-driven cybersecurity. The Nvidia partnership may well be the catalyst that puts them on more investors' radars.
On the date of publication, Aditya Raghunath did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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