Okta’s CEO is betting big on AI agent identity

Today, I’m talking with Todd McKinnon, who is co-founder and CEO of Okta, a platform that lets big companies manage security and identity across all the apps and services their employees use.

Betting Big on AI Agent Identity

Okta has a $14 billion market cap, but big software as a service companies like Okta are under a lot of pressure in the age of AI. Why would you pay their fees when you can just vibe-code your own tools? This so-called Saaspocalypse is a big deal, and Todd recently said he was “paranoid” about it on Okta’s most recent earnings call.

The biggest opportunity is the idea that it’s not just people whose access and security credentials need management, but also AI agents inside a corporation. This concept has really exploded with the rise of OpenClaw, which came with a ton of security challenges. Can any company keep users, platforms, and data safe if people are just going to buy a Mac Mini, hand their credentials to it, and let OpenClaw do whatever it wants with them? Is simply installing a “kill switch” at the agent level — as Todd suggests — enough?

The Nature of Software in 2026

Todd says that agent identity is something in between a person and a system. It also seems like we are on the cusp of some of the goofiest org chart ideas in history, as people start to manage hybrid teams of people and agents.

For McKinnon, the total addressable market for software is growing. While the threat of customers building their own tools is real, the disruption caused by AI is bigger than cloud computing. To go from what is a mid-size, successful SaaS company to what could be one of the most important companies in the world is the ultimate challenge. If you don’t question and look at how you’ve built your own company and realize that the world is changing, you’re just naive.