Okta, Inc.

Okta, Inc.

Company type	Public
Industry	Identity and access management software
Predecessor	SaaSure Inc.
Founded	2009 (2009)
Founder	Todd McKinnon, Frederic Kerrest
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Todd McKinnon (CEO), Frederic Kerrest (COO)
Products	Identity management software, single sign-on service, API authentication
Revenue	US$2.61 billion (2025)
Net income	US$28 million (2025)
Total assets	US$9.44 billion (2025)
Total equity	US$6.41 billion (2025)
Number of employees	5,914 (2025)
Website	okta.com

Okta, Inc. (originally known as SaaSure Inc.) is a U.S.-based company specializing in identity and access management, with its headquarters located in San Francisco. Established in 2009 by Todd McKinnon (CEO) and Frederic Kerrest (COO), both former executives at Salesforce, Okta focuses on cloud-based software solutions that assist organizations in securing and managing user authentication across various platforms, including applications, websites, web services, and devices. Its offerings enable businesses to implement identity controls that improve cybersecurity measures and operational effectiveness.

The company went public in 2017 through an initial public offering that valued it at more than $6 billion. By 2025, Okta reported revenues of US$2.61 billion, a net profit of US$28 million, assets amounting to US$9.44 billion, and shareholders’ equity of US$6.41 billion. Employing 5,914 individuals globally, Okta holds a prominent position as a leading provider of identity management software solutions.

Products and services

Okta’s portfolio includes six primary offerings, notably a single sign-on service that allows users to access multiple platforms such as Gmail, Workday, Salesforce, and Slack through a single set of credentials. Additionally, the company delivers API authentication solutions. These products are hosted on the Amazon Web Services cloud infrastructure.

The company bolsters its industry stature with its annual “Oktane” conference for users and partners, which has featured distinguished keynote speakers including former U.S. President Barack Obama—highlighting Okta’s strategic influence and recognition within the sector.

History

Todd McKinnon and Frederic Kerrest founded Okta in 2009 after their tenure at Salesforce. The business secured $75 million in venture funding during 2015 from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, and Sequoia Capital, which valued the company at approximately $1.2 billion.

In 2017, Okta’s IPO priced shares at $17 each, raising $187 million; Sequoia Capital retained a 21.2% ownership stake following the offering. By early 2019, the company had surpassed 100 million registered users, demonstrating rapid expansion.

Acquisitions have played a pivotal role in Okta’s growth strategy: it announced the $6.5 billion acquisition of Auth0 in March 2021, finalizing the transaction by May of that year. Later acquisitions include atSpoke for $90 million in August 2021 and cybersecurity firm Spera for an estimated $100–130 million in December 2023—moves that have enhanced Okta’s capabilities and market competitiveness in identity management.

Security incidents

On March 9, 2021, a hacking collective known as "Advanced Persistent Threat 69420" infiltrated Okta’s network by exploiting a vulnerability within the company’s Verkada camera system. This breach involved downloading security footage and obtaining root shell access. David Bradbury, Okta’s Chief Security Officer, explained that the root shell functioned as an "internal support tool," yet it permitted complete command execution across the network. The same group was linked to a similar Cloudflare breach involving comparable access levels. The incident was confined to an isolated segment of Okta’s network.

On March 22, 2022, the hacker group LAPSUS$ asserted they had penetrated Okta’s internal systems. Subsequently, Okta disclosed that data from up to 366 customers might have been compromised due to unauthorized access via a third-party support engineer's computer.

In December 2022, Okta suffered another security breach involving theft of source code from its GitHub repository.

In October 2023, Okta revealed a breach where HTTP access tokens were stolen from its support platform by BeyondTrust. Although initially denied, the company later confirmed this incident affected major clients such as Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, 1Password, and Cloudflare. This security lapse led to a market capitalization decline exceeding $2 billion. By November 29, 2023, Okta announced that all customers had been impacted by this breach.