Okta plans 50% workforce expansion in India by 2026 to advance AI security operations

Okta to Invest in R&D to Expand AI Operations in its Bengaluru Campus | AIM

Okta aims to increase its Indian workforce by 50% by 2026, focusing on advanced engineering and product development to boost AI security. Okta, a cloud-based Identity and Access Management (IAM) service platform, announced today a significant expansion of its operations in India, pledging a considerable investment to boost its research and development capabilities and its physical presence at its Bengaluru campus. The updated facility will prioritise the development of the essential Identity Security Fabric necessary to safeguard this new ecosystem, expediting AI-driven identity advancements for both the region and the global stage. Since 2023, the team has expanded to 700 employees. Furthermore, Okta intends to increase its workforce in India by 50% by 2026, focusing on advanced engineering and product development talent to further its goal of securing AI at scale. According to the company, this expansion underscores India's importance as a vital global tech talent centre and is closely linked to Okta's international growth strategy to double its revenue from $5 billion to $10 billion. "Our expansion in Bengaluru is about amplifying our ability to innovate at the speed of AI. India's talent pool has the unique depth required to tackle the complex security challenges of securing AI agents and the expanded identity surface," Shakeel Khan, regional vice president & country manager at Okta India, said in a statement. "This new facility will be the engine that helps build the identity layer of the future, ensuring that Okta leads the charge in securing the Age of AI for customers across sectors," he added. Okta's research shows that 91% of companies have AI agents, yet only 10% have security plans for them. This gap could result in a 40% failure rate for AI agent deployments by 2027 without proper authentication. Stephanie Barnett, VP presales and interim GM for the APJ region, said, "Okta's data shows that more than half of organisations now see modern identity and access management as their most critical defence in the AI era." As a result, organisations are prioritising modern identity as their key defence in the AI era. The rapid rise of Generative and Agentic AI has made IAM essential, as securing AI agents is crucial, the company said.

Okta to expand India team by 50% as it ramps up AI security push

Okta announced plans to grow its India team by 50% in 2026, with a strong focus on deeptech engineering and product development roles. The new facility in Bengaluru will focus on building Okta's foundational identity security fabric. The expansion plan aligns with the company's international commitment to scale from $5 billion to $10 billion in revenues. Cloud-based identity and access management company Okta announced plans to grow its India team by 50% in 2026, with a strong focus on deeptech engineering and product development roles, it said in a media release on Thursday. ET reported in September that the San Francisco-based company is doubling down on India, both as a talent hub and a growth market. In an exclusive interview, its chief executive Todd McKinnon said the company employs more than 500 people in Bengaluru, or nearly 10% of its workforce, and continues to expand. "We see India as an R&D hub building core products, not just a maintenance site. It's also a growth market for identity (management)," he said. Founded in 2009 by former Salesforce executives Todd McKinnon and Fredrick Kerrest, the Nasdaq-listed company sells single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, customer identity, and governance solutions to public sector organisations, government bodies, and enterprises globally. Its team has grown to 700 employees globally since 2023. Bengaluru, already a technology hub, will now serve as one of Okta's most significant engineering and innovation centres worldwide as the company doubles down on its mission to secure artificial intelligence (AI) at scale. The new facility will focus on building Okta's foundational identity security fabric. The expansion plan aligns with the company's international commitment to scale from $5 billion to $10 billion in revenues. Confirming the development, Shakeel Khan, regional vice president and country manager of Okta India, said, "India's talent pool has the unique depth required to tackle the complex security challenges of securing AI agents and the expanded identity surface." The release also stated that 91% of companies already have AI agents in production, but only 10% have a corresponding security plan. Analysts warned that 40% of AI agent deployments could fail by 2027 due to weak authentication models. This raises questions about identity in the AI era, with identity emerging as a new security perimeter. Recently, estimates by Niti Aayog revealed that the transformative power of AI could add an estimated $500-600 billion to India's GDP by 2030. Okta competes with the likes of Microsoft, CyberArk, Palo Alto Networks, Oracle, and Google. Also Read: To support startups VCs tap into AI partnerships Meanwhile, cybersecurity startups worldwide have been experiencing a surge in funding activity. In September, Israeli cybersecurity startup Vega raised $65 million in early-stage financing rounds that valued it at $400 million. In July, Palo Alto Networks announced plans to buy Israeli peer CyberArk Software for about $25 billion, in its biggest deal yet. In June, Noma Security raised $100 million in a private funding round, bringing the total funds raised to date to $132 million. While Indian enterprises have historically under-spent on cybersecurity, the Okta CEO believes that will change quickly. "The growth rate in India will outpace mature markets. You can already see the leading indicators -- cloud adoption, startups, consumer internet," McKinnon told ET earlier.