Palo Alto (PANW) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) Stock Jump as Anthropic Picks Them for AI Defense Push

TLDR

• Anthropic launched Project Glasswing, partnering with major tech and cybersecurity firms to use its unreleased Mythos Preview AI model for defensive security
• Palo Alto (PANW) jumped 4.9% and CrowdStrike (CRWD) popped 6.2% on Tuesday, with both adding another 2% in after-hours trading
• Both stocks remain down on the year — PANW off 7.8% and CRWD off 9.7% in 2026
• Anthropic will commit up to $100 million in usage credits and $4 million toward open-source security projects as part of the initiative
• The move comes after cybersecurity stocks were hit hard in March when Anthropic revealed Mythos, raising fears AI could replace traditional security software

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Anthropic’s Project Glasswing gave cybersecurity investors something to cheer about on Tuesday. Both Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike posted strong gains after the AI company said it would open access to its unreleased Mythos Preview model for defensive security work.

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 partnership includes some of the biggest names in tech — Amazon Web Services, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Google, JPMorgan Chase, the Linux Foundation, Microsoft, and Nvidia are all involved alongside PANW and CRWD.

Anthropic described Mythos Preview as an AI model capable of surpassing “all but the most skilled humans” at finding and exploiting software vulnerabilities. The project is framed as an urgent push to direct those capabilities toward defense rather than offense.

This is a notable shift in tone from just two weeks ago. On March 27, Fortune reported that Anthropic was developing the Mythos model, and cybersecurity stocks dropped sharply. Investors feared that increasingly powerful AI could chip away at demand for traditional security platforms.

Tuesday’s announcement appeared to flip that script — at least for now.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc., PANW

CRWD gained 6.2% on the day, while PANW rose nearly 5%. Both tacked on an additional 2% in after-hours trading. Gains have continued into Wednesday’s premarket session.

Still, the broader picture is less rosy. PANW is still down 7.8% year-to-date, and CRWD has shed 9.7% in 2026. The rally puts a dent in those losses but doesn’t erase them.

What Anthropic Is Putting on the Table

Anthropic is committing up to $100 million in AI usage credits to Project Glasswing partners. It’s also putting $4 million toward open-source security initiatives.

That’s real money, and it signals Anthropic is serious about building out a defensive security ecosystem rather than just announcing a partnership on paper.

The Double-Edged Question

For PANW and CRWD, the project cuts both ways. On the positive side, it validates AI-powered security as a growth area — territory where both companies are already well-positioned.

On the other hand, the same powerful AI models being used for defense could, over time, automate functions that cybersecurity firms currently charge for. If AI can detect and neutralize threats on its own, the need for some traditional security tools could shrink.

That tension isn’t going away. But for Tuesday and Wednesday, the market’s read was clear: a partnership with Anthropic beats being left out of one.

Both stocks extended their gains into Wednesday’s premarket session following the Tuesday close.

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