Shares of Palo Alto (PANW) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) Surge After Anthropic Selects Them for AI Defense Push

TLDR

• Anthropic unveiled Project Glasswing, teaming up with leading tech and cybersecurity companies to leverage its yet-to-be-released Mythos Preview AI model for defensive security purposes
• Palo Alto (PANW) saw a 4.9% increase and CrowdStrike (CRWD) rose 6.2% on Tuesday, with both stocks gaining an extra 2% during after-hours trading
• Both stocks remain in negative territory for the year — PANW is down 7.8% and CRWD is 9.7% lower in 2026
• As part of the initiative, Anthropic will allocate up to $100 million in usage credits and $4 million to support open-source security projects
• This step follows a sharp drop in cybersecurity stocks in March, when Anthropic announced Mythos and sparked concerns that AI might replace conventional security software

---

(SeaPRwire) –   Anthropic’s Project Glasswing provided cybersecurity investors with a reason to celebrate on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike both recorded significant gains after the AI firm announced it would grant access to its unreleased Mythos Preview model for defensive security tasks.

CrowdStrike and Palo Alto will no longer be manipulated when it comes to Anthropic after this announcement today ,,,CRWD and PANW can go much higher now

— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) April 7, 2026

The collaboration features several top players in the tech industry — Amazon Web Services, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Google, JPMorgan Chase, the Linux Foundation, Microsoft, and Nvidia are all participating alongside PANW and CRWD.

Anthropic characterizes Mythos Preview as an AI model that can outperform “all but the most expert humans” in identifying and exploiting software weaknesses. The initiative is positioned as a pressing effort to channel those abilities toward defense instead of offense.

This marks a significant change in stance from just two weeks prior. On March 27, Fortune reported that Anthropic was working on the Mythos model, leading to a steep decline in cybersecurity stocks. Investors worried that more advanced AI might erode demand for traditional security systems.

Tuesday’s announcement seemed to reverse that narrative — at least temporarily.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc., PANW

CRWD climbed 6.2% during the day, while PANW increased by almost 5%. Both added an extra 2% in after-hours trading, and the gains have persisted into Wednesday’s premarket period.

However, the overall outlook remains less positive. PANW is still down 7.8% year-to-date, and CRWD has lost 9.7% in 2026. The recent rally reduces those losses but doesn’t eliminate them entirely.

What Anthropic Is Bringing to the Table

Anthropic is dedicating up to $100 million in AI usage credits to Project Glasswing partners. Additionally, it’s allocating $4 million to support open-source security projects.

These are substantial sums, indicating that Anthropic is committed to building a defensive security ecosystem rather than merely making a superficial partnership announcement.

The Double-Edged Dilemma

For PANW and CRWD, the project presents both opportunities and challenges. On the upside, it confirms AI-driven security as a growth sector — an area where both firms are already strongly positioned.

Conversely, the same powerful AI models used for defense might eventually automate tasks that cybersecurity companies currently monetize. If AI can independently detect and mitigate threats, the demand for certain traditional security tools could decrease.

This tension won’t disappear anytime soon. However, for Tuesday and Wednesday, the market’s reaction was unambiguous: being part of Anthropic’s partnership is better than being excluded from it.

Both stocks continued their upward trend into Wednesday’s premarket trading after Tuesday’s closing bell.