Accenture, a global professional services and technology firm, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Dragos alongside full ownership of runZero and NetRise, in a move that places the $10bn cybersecurity business at the heart of the fast-growing operational technology (OT) security market.
The three acquisitions carry a combined enterprise value of approximately $4.18bn. Dragos, headquartered in Hanover, Maryland, is valued at $3.25bn as part of the transaction. RunZero, based in Austin, Texas, and NetRise, also headquartered in Austin, will be wholly acquired by Accenture and folded into the Dragos business. The deals are expected to close in August and September 2026, pending standard regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
Together, the three companies are intended to form a unified, end-to-end platform for protecting what the industry terms “xOT” environments. This covers the growing mix of industrial control systems, Internet of Things devices, sensors, cloud-connected equipment and related IT infrastructure that underpins power grids, pipelines, manufacturing plants, distribution centres and data centres. RunZero brings comprehensive exposure assessment and attack-surface intelligence to the combined platform, while NetRise contributes a software supply chain dataset and firmware-level visibility into device vulnerabilities.
The move comes against a backdrop of accelerating threats to critical infrastructure. Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by adversaries to narrow the window between an IT breach and a subsequent attack on OT systems. Despite this, cybersecurity investment has historically skewed towards IT environments, leaving OT systems relatively exposed. Accenture’s push into xOT security is designed to redress that imbalance, offering operators of critical infrastructure a single solution with which to monitor their entire OT network, understand what is running on it and respond to threats.
Dragos, which employs 580 people and maintains a vendor-neutral approach to OT threat detection, will continue to operate as an independent business following the acquisitions. Its co-founder and CEO Robert M. Lee will lead the combined entity, with runZero CEO HD Moore and NetRise CEO Thomas Pace, along with NetRise chief technology officer and chief scientist Michael Scott, joining Dragos as key executives.
Accenture has been building its cybersecurity practice since 2016, growing it from $700m in revenue to $10bn by the end of fiscal year 2025, representing a 35% compound annual growth rate. The company has a track record of OT-focused acquisitions, including Cimation in 2015 and Revolutionary Security in 2020, as well as Callisto, Electro 80, True North Solutions and SYSTEMA. These latest acquisitions are expected to extend Accenture’s reach from the $7bn OT cybersecurity services market into the broader software-led OT security segment.
Accenture chair and CEO Julie Sweet said, “In an age when AI-driven cyber threats and geopolitical risk are evolving at a rapid pace, our cybersecurity practice is growing by double-digits and has a strong track record of leveraging inorganic opportunity to fuel organic growth. Our clients across industries and regions are asking us how to be more proactive and integrated in their approach to cybersecurity. The addition of Dragos, complemented by runZero and NetRise, fills this important need. We are confident Dragos’ differentiated OT platform will accelerate our growth in the critical infrastructure and industrial operations markets, driving long-term shareholder value through scaled adoption of advanced cybersecurity capabilities.”
Dragos co-founder and CEO Robert M. Lee said, “Our energy and water systems, manufacturing plants, data centers and other operational environments need cybersecurity built from the ground up for xOT and designed to keep pace as threats evolve. The consequences of getting it wrong become societal threats. Organizations need solutions, not a patchwork of software and services. The addition of runZero and NetRise will allow the Dragos Platform to be a unique end-to-end platform for global defense, and Accenture will bring its decades of trusted relationships and deep expertise to help us scale and secure more critical infrastructure and physical operations globally.”
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