CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Panther vs Splunk

Panther is an AI SOC platform that ingests and normalizes logs at petabyte scale, lets teams write detection rules in Python, and automatically creates detections using AI and natural language. Splunk sells a data platform for security, observability, and AI, and says the platform unifies petabyte-scale machine data wherever it lives. CISO Tribune files both under SIEM and Security data lakes and pipelines. This page sets the two records side by side: what each sells, where it is based, who owns and funds it, the customers it names and its recent news, each fact numbered to its source.

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  • Panther
  • Splunk
Panther vs Splunk: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
PantherPanther is an AI SOC platform that ingests and normalizes logs at petabyte scale, lets teams write detection rules in Python, and automatically creates detections using AI and natural language.panther.comSplunkSplunk sells a data platform for security, observability, and AI, and says the platform unifies petabyte-scale machine data wherever it lives.splunk.com
What it sells
  • AI SOC Agent[6]Runs on a schedule, responds to natural language queries, and takes action with complete context.
  • AI Detection Builder[5]Creates detections using AI and natural language.
  • Splunk Cloud Platform[12][22][23][24]A platform to collect, index, and visualize data in the cloud.
  • Splunk Enterprise[1][12][14][17][18][22][24]A platform to collect, index, and visualize data using an on-premises engine.
  • Splunk Enterprise Security[1][14][17][18]A Splunk solution for security operations.
  • Federated Search[15][19]A search layer across the data estate.
  • Splunk AI Assistant[19]A natural-language entry point to the search workflow.
  • Splunk Edge Processor[21]A processor that applies cryptographic functions to data as it flows on-premises.
  • Splunk AI Toolkit[20]Guided workflows to build and deploy models.
  • Splunk Log Observer Connect[22]An integration that links logs to Splunk Observability Cloud.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesSan Jose, United States[4]
Founded
Not stated on its pages2003[3]
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesOwned by Cisco[2][15][16][25]
Named customers
Not stated on its pages
Recent news
  • June 16, 2026Databricks reached a deal to buy Panther Labs, the company behind Panther, as part of a push into cybersecurity.[7]
  • June 16, 2026Databricks acquired Panther, a startup that works on cyberattack detection.[8]
  • September 15, 2026Cisco released Cisco AI POD for Splunk, which brings Splunk AI features to on-premises customers on Cisco infrastructure with NVIDIA computing.[10]
  • May 28, 2026Splunk reported that Cisco has completed its acquisition of Galileo, with plans to integrate Galileo technology into Splunk Observability.[25]
  • April 9, 2026Cisco agreed to buy AI observability startup Galileo Technologies to add its agent monitoring tools to the Splunk observability platform.[11]
  • February 18, 2026Splunk announced that its hosted AI models are generally available for Splunk Cloud Platform customers.[23]
  • January 16, 2026Splunk announced the release of Splunk Enterprise 10.2 and Splunk Cloud Platform 10.2.[24]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 3, 2026[16]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
Teams with detection engineers can use Detection-as-Code with Python rules, version control, and CI/CD workflows. Teams without detection engineers can start with the built-in detection library and AI Detection Builder. Panther can run inside the customer's own AWS account, or Panther can operate a managed cloud with the customer's data ingested into a dedicated, isolated environment.From its own pages, Splunk sells mainly to organisations that want security, observability, and AI data on one platform. Splunk describes SOC teams that index authentication and firewall data for real-time detections. Splunk describes a healthcare organization that monitors logs from medical devices. Splunk offers material for CISOs and boards on priorities, budgeting, compliance, and success metrics. Splunk describes deployments on Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud Platform.
Last verified
September 27, 2026October 10, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Panther and Splunk are both filed under SIEM and Security data lakes and pipelines.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Panther's primary category is AI SOC analysts; Splunk's is SIEM.
  • Splunk is also filed under SOAR and security automation.
  • Panther lists AI SOC Agent and AI Detection Builder. Splunk lists Splunk Cloud Platform, Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Federated Search, Splunk AI Assistant and 3 more.
  • Splunk is headquartered in San Jose, United States.
  • Splunk was founded in 2003.
  • Splunk is owned by Cisco.
  • Splunk publicly names Carrefour, Intel, FINRA, Alaska Airlines and Honda of Alabama.

What it sells: Panther

What AI SOC Agent does[6]
Panther's AI SOC Agent runs on a schedule, responds to natural language queries, and takes action with complete context. Each investigation pulls from the data lake, detection logic, and connected tools via MCP. Panther runs scheduled threat hunts across the full data lake on a cadence the customer configures. Panther generates new detection rules from natural language, identifies recurring false positives, and submits tuning changes as reviewable Python code through the existing GitHub workflow.

What it sells: Splunk

What Splunk Cloud Platform does[12][22][23][24]
Splunk Cloud Platform is described as a way to collect, index, and visualize data in the cloud. Splunk says data can be brought in with agents, Splunk-supported integrations, and developer add-ons.
What Splunk Enterprise Security does[1][14][17][18]
Splunk names Splunk Enterprise Security among its solutions that use pre-written macros. Splunk describes AI Assistant in Security as available to cloud customers of Splunk Enterprise Security.
What Federated Search does[15][19]
Federated Search is described as the unifying search layer across the data estate. It covers Splunk-managed locations and supported customer-managed stores such as Amazon S3 and Snowflake.
What Splunk AI Assistant does[19]
Splunk AI Assistant provides a natural-language entry point to the search workflow. With Agent Mode enabled, an analyst can describe the investigation to perform instead of constructing each search.

Questions about Panther and Splunk

What do Panther and Splunk sell?
Panther sells AI SOC Agent and AI Detection Builder. Splunk sells Splunk Cloud Platform, Splunk Enterprise, Splunk Enterprise Security, Federated Search, Splunk AI Assistant and 3 more.
Are Panther and Splunk in the same category?
They share SIEM and Security data lakes and pipelines. Panther's primary category is AI SOC analysts and Splunk's is SIEM.
Where are Panther and Splunk headquartered?
Splunk is headquartered in San Jose, United States.
When were Panther and Splunk founded?
Splunk was founded in 2003.
Who owns Panther and Splunk?
Splunk is owned by Cisco.
Which customers do Panther and Splunk name?
Splunk publicly names Carrefour, Intel, FINRA, Alaska Airlines and Honda of Alabama.
Who are Panther and Splunk sold to?
Teams with detection engineers can use Detection-as-Code with Python rules, version control, and CI/CD workflows. From its own pages, Splunk sells mainly to organisations that want security, observability, and AI data on one platform.
What have Panther and Splunk announced recently?
June 16, 2026: Databricks reached a deal to buy Panther Labs, the company behind Panther, as part of a push into cybersecurity. September 15, 2026: Cisco released Cisco AI POD for Splunk, which brings Splunk AI features to on-premises customers on Cisco infrastructure with NVIDIA computing.

About Panther

Panther is an AI SOC platform that ingests and normalizes logs at petabyte scale, lets teams write detection rules in Python, and automatically creates detections using AI and natural language. Panther is a cloud-native SIEM featuring detections-as-code and advanced search, with natively supported log sources and alert destinations. Panther ingests terabytes of security events per day into a structured data lake to power real-time detections and investigations. Panther uses a security data lake architecture that provides long-term retention. Customers own their data and can query it at any time, and retention policies in Panther are configurable to meet compliance requirements.[2][3]

Panther says that cloud security logs, EDR portals, and MDR consoles each exist in silos with no central view. Panther states that analysts manually piece context together, often missing critical details. Panther describes an agentic SOC in which agents hunt the full data lake on a regular cadence, surfacing findings that flow into new detections through a governed workflow. In Panther, every alert is investigated with full context, and confirmed benign alerts close automatically. When a finding escalates in Panther, the agent assembles the full investigation across multiple systems, and analysts review and guide agentic runbooks to take action.[6]

Panther's AI SOC Agent runs on a schedule, responds to natural language queries, and takes action with complete context. Every investigation by the AI SOC Agent pulls from the customer's data lake, detection logic, and connected tools via MCP. When an alert fires, Panther automatically gathers evidence across the data lake, detection logic, alert history, and connected tools. Panther AI queries the data lake, reviews detection logic, and pulls enrichment from connected tools, delivering a risk classification with reasoning. Any analyst can investigate through a natural language interface in Panther without writing SQL, PantherFlow, or any other query syntax. Panther exposes its own MCP server, so external agents can query alerts, detections, and log data directly. When the risk classification of the AI SOC Agent falls below a threshold the customer configures, the alert closes automatically.[6]

Panther generates new detection rules from natural language, identifies recurring false positives, and submits tuning changes as reviewable Python code through the customer's existing GitHub workflow. The Panther agent traces an issue back to the specific Python rule responsible and proposes an edit as reviewable code through the existing GitHub workflow, with a diff, explanation, and unit tests. In Panther, nothing deploys without human review. Teams with detection engineers use Detection-as-Code in Panther, with Python rules, version control, and CI/CD workflows. Teams without detection engineers can start with Panther's built-in detection library and AI Detection Builder, then grow into custom rules over time.[6]

Panther connects to cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), SaaS tools, endpoints, and network devices. Panther routes alerts to Slack, Jira, PagerDuty, and more. For orchestration and response, Panther provides agentic workflows and runbooks or integrates with external SOAR platforms. Panther offers Okta log monitoring for complete visibility into IdP activity. Panther detections can be enriched with real-time IoCs from Google Threat Intelligence. Panther AI can send messages and search a Slack workspace directly, manage incidents and on-call schedules directly, and search and update a Notion workspace directly. Panther-managed rules for Orca Security are in the panther-analysis GitHub repository. Panther includes built-in dashboards and MITRE ATT&CK mapping, from alert trends to program maturity. In Panther, native access to detection logic means every triage outcome feeds back into the rules that fire.[6][9][10]

Panther offers two deployment models on one platform, and the choice is where the customer's data lives. In the first model, Panther runs inside the customer's AWS account, against Snowflake or Databricks, and the security data stays in the customer's warehouse. The detection engine, workflows, and agents in Panther operate against that data in place. In the managed model, Panther manages the service and ingests customer data into a dedicated, isolated environment.

Databricks has acquired Panther to accelerate the security lakehouse vision. Panther's AI SOC workflows, 100+ integrations, and detection-as-code capabilities are being integrated into Databricks Lakewatch. Panther requires human approval for every write, and every AI action is logged and reviewable.[1][6][9]

Panther on the record

Sources

Panther full record

  1. [1]ProductPanther · panther.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]panther.comPanther · panther.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Overview | Panther DocsPanther · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Security Integrations for Modern SOC Operations | PantherPanther · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Panther | The Complete AI SOC PlatformPanther · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]AI SOC Agent for Alert Triage & Investigation | PantherPanther · undated page, accessed October 27, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Databricks strikes deal to buy Panther Labs in cybersecurity pushReuters · published June 16, 2026 · Tier B
  8. [8]Databricks acquires cyberattack detection startup PantherSiliconANGLE · published June 16, 2026 · Tier B
  9. [9]Security Integrations for Modern SOC Operations | PantherPanther · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Orca Security Logs | Panther DocsPanther · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

Splunk full record

  1. [1]ProductsSplunk · splunk.com · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Cisco completes acquisition of splunkCisco · newsroom.cisco.com · published March 18, 2024 · Tier A
  3. [3]Get the most out of splunk infrastructure monitoring and splunk itsiSplunk · splunk.com · published November 17, 2020 · Tier A
  4. [4]Contact usSplunk · splunk.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]CarrefourSplunk · splunk.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]IntelSplunk · splunk.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]FinraSplunk · splunk.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Alaska airlinesSplunk · splunk.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]HondaSplunk · splunk.com · undated page, accessed October 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Cisco delivers trusted ai at scale through new splunk advancementsCisco · newsroom.cisco.com · published September 15, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Cisco buys galileo strengthen splunks agentic monitoring capabilitiesSiliconANGLE · siliconangle.com · published April 9, 2026 · Tier B
  12. [12]Get Data In | Platform (last updated lastModifiedISO)Splunk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Analytics Story: Warzone RAT | Splunk Security ContentSplunk · published May 13, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Analytics Story: Trickbot | Splunk Security ContentSplunk · published May 13, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Splunk | Data Platform for Security, Observability & AISplunk · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]Splunk Enterprise Reviews 2026: Details, Pricing, & FeaturesG2 · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier C
  17. [17]Using advanced macros - Splunk LanternSplunk Lantern · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  18. [18]L’IA au service de la sécurité | SplunkSplunk · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  19. [19]Investigating and searching across your data estate with Cisco Data Fabric powered by the Splunk platform - Splunk LanternSplunk Lantern · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  20. [20]Preparing data for use with the Splunk AI Toolkit - Splunk LanternSplunk Lantern · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  21. [21]De-identifying PII consistently with hashing in Edge Processor - Splunk LanternSplunk Lantern · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  22. [22]Using Log Observer Connect with Cloud Platform - Splunk LanternSplunk Lantern · undated page, accessed November 3, 2026 · Tier A
  23. [23]Splunk Launches Hosted Generative AI Models: Native-AI Insights, Zero Setup, Maximum SecuritySplunk · published February 18, 2026 · Tier A
  24. [24]Announcing Splunk Enterprise 10.2 & Splunk Cloud Platform 10.2 – Next Generation Querying & AnalyticsSplunk · published January 16, 2026 · Tier A
  25. [25]Splunk Observability + Galileo: Bridging the AI Trust GapSplunk · published May 28, 2026 · Tier A

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