Akamai Implements Security Within AI Factories Through Collaboration with NVIDIA

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation and NVIDIA DOCA enable real-time zero-trust controls for AI factory data, context memory, and agent-based AI workloads on NVIDIA Vera BlueField-4 STX

Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) is partnering with NVIDIA to bring advanced security architecture to AI factories, forming the foundation for the emerging agent-centric era where AI agents become pervasive.

Akamai and NVIDIA are expanding their security collaboration by integrating Akamai Guardicore Segmentation into the NVIDIA Vera BlueField-4 STX storage architecture, built on the NVIDIA DOCA software platform. This integration aims to embed layers of zero-trust architecture directly into the AI factory itself, protecting data, context memory, and autonomous agents.

*This release is a translated summary of a press release originally announced on June 2, 2026 (local time) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

This groundbreaking security integration enables AI factory operators to apply workload-aware segmentation, monitor agent behavior, and contain threats at the infrastructure layer—all while maintaining the speed of accelerated computing without burdening the GPU, CPU, or storage processing cycles that AI workloads depend on.

Ofer Wolf, Senior Vice President of Enterprise Security at Akamai, said: "AI factories are becoming critical assets for enterprises, and given the increasing speed and scale of cyberattacks leveraging cutting-edge frontier LLMs, they must be designed with threat containment as a core principle. In environments where clock cycles matter, traditional host-based security tools act like speed bumps on the circuit, slowing performance. By moving workload-aware segmentation to NVIDIA Vera BlueField-4 STX and NVIDIA DOCA, we enable zero-trust enforcement at the native speed of AI workloads, helping contain threats before they spread across high-performance environments."

Kevin Deierling, Senior Vice President of Networking at NVIDIA, added: "Data is the foundation of agentic AI factories and the source of intelligence powering autonomous decision-making. Robust protection has never been more critical for enterprises. The Akamai Guardicore Enterprise Security Platform combined with NVIDIA Vera BlueField-4 STX embeds a zero-trust protection layer directly into the infrastructure fabric, safeguarding enterprise data by intelligently controlling the massive communications of AI workloads."

Security Enabled by High-Speed Processing

AI factories are being built at a pace that outstrips traditional security measures. Until now, there has been a trade-off between AI performance and AI security. But such compromises are no longer acceptable.

The expanded integration between Akamai and NVIDIA is built upon the architectural agreement the two companies announced in February 2026, specifically designed to eliminate this trade-off.

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation protects some of the world’s largest and most sensitive organizations, providing an intelligence layer that continuously maps how workloads, applications, and data interact across hybrid environments—including data centers, cloud infrastructure, Kubernetes clusters, and edge systems. Policies are defined not on static network addresses, but on workload identity, application context, and runtime behavior. By visualizing the entire lifecycle of AI workloads, it reveals anomalous patterns and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

The NVIDIA Vera BlueField-4 STX, programmable via NVIDIA DOCA, builds threat detection and enforcement layers directly into silicon. Security policies are enforced at line speed within the data path of the infrastructure fabric—not on the host—bringing policy enforcement closer to the workloads themselves. This ensures no interference with the processing of GPUs, CPUs, or storage processors that AI factories rely on. Together, these two layers establish identity-based zero-trust not as an add-on, but as an inherent property of the infrastructure itself.

How the Integration Works

This integrated solution operates on the principle that intelligence must precede policy enforcement.

Visibility

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation continuously maps communication relationships across data centers, clouds, Kubernetes, and edge systems. Its agentless architecture enables monitoring of AI workloads—including training pipelines, inference services, data ingestion systems, and orchestration platforms—without interfering with their operations.

Policy

Explicit communication policies are defined using workload identity, application context, and runtime behavior. For example, pre-processing nodes can access datasets and training services but nothing beyond that scope. Research environments are clearly isolated from production inference. Pods can be scaled and services evolved without violating policy boundaries.

Enforcement

NVIDIA DOCA enforces these policies at line speed within the data path of the BlueField-4’s embedded silicon. Security functions such as segmentation, telemetry, anomaly detection, and isolation of infected systems are executed within the infrastructure fabric, not on the host.

Containment

Even if a workload is compromised, its impact is limited to a small, defined segment within the environment. The rest of the AI factory continues to operate uninterrupted.

Availability Timeline

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation integrated with NVIDIA BlueField and NVIDIA DOCA is expected to be available in the second half of 2026 for implementing workload-aware segmentation in AI factories. The integrated solution between Akamai and NVIDIA Vera BlueField-4 STX is expected to launch on storage and infrastructure partner platforms in the first half of 2027.

About Akamai Akamai is a cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects online businesses. With market-leading security solutions, world-class threat intelligence, and a global operations team, Akamai delivers multi-layered defense to protect enterprise data and applications everywhere. Akamai’s full-stack cloud computing solutions deliver high performance and cost efficiency on the world’s most distributed platform. Global enterprises trust Akamai to provide the industry-leading reliability, scalability, and expertise needed to grow their businesses. For more information, visit akamai.com and akamai.com/blog, or follow Akamai Technologies on X and LinkedIn.

*Akamai and the Akamai logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Akamai Technologies, Inc. *Company names, organization names, logos, and service names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies *The content of this press release is based on individual case studies and may vary depending on specific circumstances