F5 Acquires CalypsoAI for $180M to Boost Cybersecurity AI

Seattle-based F5 Inc. has made a strategic move in the world of cybersecurity and artificial intelligence (AI) by acquiring CalypsoAI, a cutting-edge AI security firm headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The $180 million deal, announced officially in September 2025, denotes a significant step for F5 as it bolsters its cybersecurity offerings using AI-driven threat detection and response capabilities.

What Is CalypsoAI?

Founded in 2018, CalypsoAI specializes in securing AI models against adversarial attacks, ensuring the safe deployment of generative AI technologies in enterprise environments. With the rapid global adoption of AI, the need to protect machine learning systems and the data they work with has become a top priority for organizations around the world.

CalypsoAI’s proprietary solutions are trusted by multiple U.S. government agencies, defense contractors, and several Fortune 500 enterprises. Leveraging advanced techniques such as model validation, adversarial testing, and real-time AI monitoring, the firm has stood out as one of the most forward-thinking players in the AI security landscape.

Why F5 Acquired CalypsoAI

F5, historically renowned for application security and delivery solutions, is now setting its sights firmly on the future of cybersecurity. Here’s why this acquisition makes sense:

AI Security Integration: By embedding CalypsoAI’s technology into F5’s platform, the company aims to secure AI-powered applications at scale.
Expansion Into AI Model Security: CalypsoAI addresses a growing concern—how to protect AI models from manipulation and abuse.
Diversification of Expertise: The acquisition brings new R&D capacity from CalypsoAI’s talented team, notably AI experts based in Ireland and the U.S.
First-Mover Advantage: As AI adoption skyrockets, F5 positions itself ahead of competitors by addressing threats specific to machine learning infrastructures.

Strategic Importance of AI Security in 2025 and Beyond

As enterprise AI becomes ubiquitous—from customer support bots to predictive analytics—ensuring these systems operate securely has become non-negotiable. Threat actors are increasingly targeting AI models through techniques like:

Model Inversion: Recovering sensitive training data from trained models.
Data Poisoning: Introducing deceptive data inputs to corrupt model learning.
Adversarial Examples: Creating subtle manipulations in inputs that mislead AI models without human detection.

F5’s acquisition of CalypsoAI puts the company in a strong position to guard against these novel forms of cyber threats. By integrating CalypsoAI’s offerings with its existing platform, F5 is creating a comprehensive protective layer for enterprises deploying machine learning technologies.

Insight Into the $180 Million Deal

The acquisition highlights the growing investment focus on AI security solutions. According to industry insiders, the $180 million price tag reflects both CalypsoAI’s tangible product value and the broader market opportunity of AI cybersecurity. While the terms remain confidential, it’s understood that F5 will integrate CalypsoAI’s engineering and R&D teams into its operations, establishing Dublin as a strategic innovation hub.

Fran Rosch, CEO of F5, commented on the deal:

“AI presents massive potential for improving digital experiences, but also introduces new attack surfaces. With CalypsoAI, we can now help our customers harness AI securely and with confidence.”

This acquisition also marks F5’s second largest buy in recent years, following its $1 billion acquisition of distributed cloud firm Volterra in 2021.

The Road Ahead: What This Means for F5 Customers

In the coming months, F5 plans to roll out AI security modules as part of its platform offerings, particularly integrating them into:

F5 Distributed Cloud Services
BIG-IP Application Security Manager (ASM)
NGINX AI-based toolkits

These integrations will provide F5 customers with the ability to:

Detect Sensor Manipulations: Identify and halt adversarial attacks in real-time.
Monitor AI Model Drift: Ensure deployed models continue behaving within safe operational patterns.
Run Pre-Deployment Validation: Scan AI models prior to deployment to uncover vulnerabilities.

These features will be especially valuable for regulated industries such as finance, healthcare, and defense—sectors where AI is mission-critical and data sensitivity is paramount.

Dublin as an Innovation Hub

CalypsoAI’s roots in Dublin also offer F5 a foothold in Europe, complementing its global footprint. Ireland has emerged as a major technology and cybersecurity innovation center, with a highly educated workforce and favorable R&D tax incentives. F5 plans to expand the Dublin site and invest in local talent, increasing collaboration with European customers and regulatory agencies.

F5 executives emphasized that expanding globally while addressing AI risk compliance—particularly with the upcoming EU Artificial Intelligence Act—is central to their strategy moving forward.

The Future of AI-Based Cybersecurity

This acquisition signals a broader industry trend where traditional security vendors are seeking to secure not just the software applications, but also the AI models that power them. Organizations must now think beyond endpoint protection and embrace capabilities such as:

AI Model Explainability
Secure Model Training
Ethical AI Governance

By partnering CalypsoAI’s R&D prowess with F5’s market presence and customer base, the combined entity is poised to lead the next wave of cybersecurity innovation.

Conclusion: A Timely Move in a Rapidly Changing Landscape

F5’s $180 million acquisition of CalypsoAI marks a landmark move in the evolution of cybersecurity and AI. As companies continue to embrace AI to enhance customer experiences and operations, the associated risks are growing just as fast. This strategic deal ensures that F5 is not just keeping pace, but setting the standard for AI-enabled cybersecurity solutions.

For enterprises seeking to deploy AI securely, this acquisition could not have come at a more critical time. F5 and CalypsoAI together are redefining how businesses build trust and resilience in an increasingly AI-powered world.

Stay tuned as F5 unveils new AI security features and integrations in the coming quarters—poised to reshape the cybersecurity landscape.