Okta's CEO is betting big on AI agent identity

Okta's CEO is betting big on AI agent identity

From Decoder with Nilay Patel by The Verge

March 30, 2026 · 1h 7m

About this episode

Nilay Patel interviews Okta CEO Todd McKinnon about the challenges and opportunities in identity management amidst the rise of AI.

My guest today is Okta CEO Todd McKinnon. Okta is a platform that big companies use to manage security and identity across all the many apps and platforms their employees use. Most of us run into it as login management at work. SaaS companies like Okta are under a lot of pressure in the age of AI, which Todd even said on an earnings call he's "paranoid" about. But you'll also hear Todd say that for Okta specifically, there's also a world of opportunity as the very concept of a digital "identity" has to expand into things that aren't really people. Links: CEO ‘paranoid’ as vibe coders stir SaaSpocalypse fears | The Register $300B evaporated. The SaaSpocalypse has begun | Forbes How AI assistants are moving the security goalposts | Krebs on Security What everyone’s missing about AI and development | CRN Agents run amok: Identity lessons from Moltbook’s experiment | Okta Breakup of IBM is Antitrust goal (1972) | New York Times Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin…

People in this episode

Guest: Todd McKinnon

Topics covered

  • AI
  • identity management
  • SaaS
  • security

Keywords

  • Okta
  • digital identity
  • AI agents

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Decoder, Okta

Books & works: Decoder

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