Quest Software, a data management, cybersecurity and platform modernization company backed by Clearlake Capital Group, has acquired Anetac, a provider of AI-powered identity security for human, non-human and agentic identities. The acquisition adds to Quest's identity security position within Microsoft ecosystems, extending its platform with continuous visibility into identity access, privilege behavior and access chains.
Anetac's technology extends identity discovery beyond traditional directories, providing visibility into identities, access chains and privilege inheritance across hybrid and AI-driven environments. According to the companies, machine identities, including service accounts, APIs, bots and workloads, now outnumber human users by up to 82 to 1. Anetac provides discovery, classification and lifecycle management for these identities, which the companies said helps organizations reduce risk, enforce least-privilege access and meet compliance requirements across human, non-human and agentic identity types.
Tim Page, CEO of Quest Software, described the rationale behind the acquisition:
"Identity security in the agentic AI era is one of the biggest risks enterprises face. By bringing Anetac's innovative approach to non-human and agentic identity monitoring and security into Quest, we are able to take on this heightened challenge, helping customers gain full visibility and control over all identities across their environments."
Prashant Mehrotra and Paul Huber, Partners and Managing Directors at Clearlake, framed the deal around the growing role of identity in AI-driven security:
"Identity is rapidly emerging as one of the most important security layers in an AI-driven world. With this shift accelerating rapidly, the need for real-time behavioral intelligence and governance has never been greater. We believe Quest is uniquely positioned to help organizations address this challenge, and Anetac's capabilities further strengthen Quest's ability to deliver differentiated identity security solutions for customers globally."
Following the acquisition, Quest and Anetac's combined platform will let organizations discover, govern and secure identities across human, non-human and agentic categories within their environments. Clearlake Capital, the private equity firm backing Quest, was founded in 2006 and manages more than $185 billion in assets across private equity, credit, infrastructure and related strategies, with 14 offices across the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
