Keyfactor has announced its intent to acquire UK-based Cofide, an identity platform focused on securing software workloads and AI agents operating across cloud environments. The acquisition will expand Keyfactor’s Trust Control Plane by adding workload and AI agent identity capabilities, enabling organizations to manage and govern non-human identities through a unified security platform.
As enterprises rapidly adopt artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, the number of machine identities and AI agents operating within digital environments continues to grow. Keyfactor and Cofide aim to address this challenge by replacing static credentials with verified, short-lived identities designed specifically for modern cloud-native and agentic architectures.
As enterprises deploy more AI agents, automated workflows, and cloud-based workloads, non-human identities now represent a growing part of the digital ecosystem. However, many of these systems continue to rely on static credentials that can be copied, exposed, or misused.
Keyfactor’s planned acquisition of Cofide addresses this challenge by extending digital trust management beyond traditional users, devices, and applications. Cofide’s identity platform provides each workload and AI agent with a unique verified identity designed to limit access and support secure autonomous operations.
By combining Cofide’s workload identity capabilities with Keyfactor’s Trust Control Plane, organizations will gain a centralized approach to managing machine identities and AI-driven systems.
"At Keyfactor, we've built a track record of expanding our platform capabilities to meet the evolving demands of digital trust and security," said Jordan Rackie, Chief Executive Officer, Keyfactor. "Our intent to acquire Cofide is another step in that journey. As AI agents, machine identities, and autonomous workloads become critical to business operations, trust infrastructure must evolve to keep pace. Cofide strengthens our vision for the Trust Control Plane by extending trusted identity beyond traditional systems and enabling our customers to securely manage the next generation of digital actors with the same confidence they rely on today."
Traditional identity and access management approaches were primarily designed for human users and conventional applications. The rapid growth of AI agents and autonomous workloads has created new security requirements around identity verification, access control, and operational governance.
Cofide addresses these challenges by providing workload identity capabilities based on open standards. Instead of relying on static secrets, the platform uses cryptographic proof to verify what a workload is and what actions it is authorized to perform.
The approach helps organizations reduce security risks by limiting agent authority and ensuring AI systems operate with controlled permissions.
"Customers stall on securing their workloads because it is operationally hard, not because the technology falls short," said Gün Akkor, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Keyfactor. "Cofide makes it practical, and the Trust Control Plane makes it something enterprises can operate and prove at scale."
Keyfactor’s Trust Control Plane is designed to provide centralized visibility and governance for digital trust infrastructure. With Cofide’s technology, the platform will expand its capabilities across cloud-native workloads and AI-powered environments.
Through Cofide Connect, organizations will be able to extend trusted identity management across hybrid and multi-cloud architectures while maintaining centralized oversight.
The combined capabilities are designed to help security teams manage growing numbers of machine identities, improve operational visibility, and establish consistent security controls across enterprise environments.
"We built Cofide to provide an open standards-based trust layer that unifies workload IAM across multiple cloud platforms and environments, reducing operational complexity while strengthening our customer's security," said Matthew Bates, Founder and CEO, Cofide. "AI agents are proliferating faster than most organizations can secure them. Joining Keyfactor allows us to accelerate delivery of that vision at a scale and depth of trust no standalone company could achieve, exactly when customers need it most."
Following the acquisition, Cofide’s team and technology will join Keyfactor to support the company’s broader vision of delivering comprehensive trust infrastructure for emerging digital technologies.
The integration will strengthen Keyfactor’s ability to help enterprises secure machine identities, AI agents, and autonomous workloads while preparing for future security challenges, including the transition toward quantum-safe cryptography.
As organizations increasingly depend on AI-driven systems, identity-based security approaches will become essential for maintaining control, accountability, and resilience across enterprise environments.
Keyfactor is the leader in trust infrastructure for AI and machines. The platform equips enterprises to take control of the machine identities and cryptography that safeguard every digital interaction. By bringing fragmented tools and assets into a single control plane, security teams can see their cryptographic landscape, find and remediate risk exposure, roll out compliant and quantum-safe cryptography, and issue a cryptographic identity to every machine, workload, and AI. Trusted by the largest enterprises and government agencies, Keyfactor delivers the resilient foundation organizations need to keep running uninterrupted in the AI and quantum era. Learn more at www.keyfactor.com or follow Keyfactor on LinkedIn.
Cofide is an open-standards identity platform that secures application workloads and AI agents across any cloud environment. Built on open standards including SPIFFE, OAuth, and OIDC, Cofide gives every workload its own verified, short-lived identity, replacing static secrets with cryptographic proof of what a workload is, across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
