Newcore Raises $66M to Solve Agentic Identity Problem, Shifting IAM Control Plane
Summary
Key Takeaways
Newcore, an Israeli-American startup, raised $66M (pre-seed $16M led by Index Ventures and Cyberstarts, seed extended by Evolution Equity Partners) at a $300M valuation. Founding team includes Dome9 founder (acquired by Check Point), Unit 8200 researcher, and former CIO of T-Mobile/Telstra.
Its platform unifies identity management for humans, machines, and AI agents. The key feature, Agentic Skill, lets AI coding tools like Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, and Cursor access enterprise systems as managed identities, eliminating credential borrowing and audit gaps.
Newcore explicitly targets Microsoft Entra and Okta. It has <10 paying customers and >10 design partners. It will debut at Identiverse 2026 and plans to start charging in summer 2026.
Why It Matters
Newcore claims to solve agentic identity but is actually encircling Microsoft and Okta to capture the IAM control plane. Legacy IAM's static permission model is architecturally unfit for AI agents' dynamic, temporary, multi-step permissions. By turning AI tools into managed identities via Agentic Skill, Newcore shifts control from human identities to agent identities, forcing IAM redesign.
Hidden risks: deep integration leads to vendor lock-in on Newcore's managed identity API; migration cost is high. The platform lacks large-scale validation; tail latency and PFC/ECN bottlenecks under thousands of concurrent agents are untested. It understates integration complexity: operating dual IAM systems increases operational overhead and supplier concentration risk.
PRO Decision
【Vendors】Competitors (Microsoft, Okta, Palo Alto Networks) should launch native AI agent identity modules leveraging existing deep integration (e.g., Entra ID Conditional Access, Okta Workflows) to offer dynamic permission management, preempting Newcore. Use open standards (SCIM, OAuth 2.0 Device Grant) to lower migration costs and lock in ecosystem.
【Enterprises】CIOs and architects must perform zero-trust technical audit on Newcore: demand benchmark tests (e.g., response time for 1000 concurrent agents, permission change latency) and verify interoperability with existing IAM (e.g., identity sync via Entra ID). Beware supplier concentration risk; require cross-platform identity federation (e.g., OpenID Connect Federation).
【Investors】Newcore's $300M valuation is based on problem urgency not revenue. Monitor customer retention and contract cycles: IAM replacement takes 3-4 years. Key milestone: landing a Fortune 100 customer by end of 2026, or risk being crushed by Microsoft/Okta's fast follow.
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