Scottsdale company acquires London-based BoxyHQ

By Amy Edelen

Ory Corp., a Scottsdale-based cloud software security provider that counts OpenAI as one of its clients, has acquired BoxyHQ, a British software company headquartered in London.

Ory announced its acquisition of BoxyHQ on Thursday, stating it will accelerate the company's ability to help clients securely connect their apps to organizations.

"Becoming part of Ory will accelerate our ability to modernize B2B connections through the easiest and most seamless path to automated and self-service identity management," Deepak Prabhakara, co-founder of BoxyHQ, said in a statement. "This is critical for customers that still use legacy IAM but require more modern, automated, and simple enterprise customer experiences.”

With the deal, Ory becomes the latest Valley tech company to grow through a merger or acquisition in 2025. Tempe-based cybersecurity software company Gen Digitial Inc. completed its $1 billion acquisition of MoneyLion in April, while Scottsdale-based software unicorn Paradox in February announced its acquisition of workforce automation startup Eqtble. Meanwhile, Scottsdale-based Featured recently unveiled a plan to revive the online media tool Help a Reporter Out after acquiring it from Cision.

Those M&A deals followed a robust 2024 which saw 23 Arizona businesses either complete or set acquisitions in motion worth more than $4.5 billion combined.

BoxyHQ provides plug-and-play single sign on services for identity management, while Ory claims it operates one of the largest identity and access control networks globally, serving enterprise clients such as OpenAI, Cisco, Tesla, IBM, Hootsuite and Mistral AI, among others.

An identity and access control network is a cybersecurity framework that controls access to computer systems, cloud applications and networks based on a user’s digital identity.

As part of the acquisition, Ory adds three of BoxyHQ’s employees, including Prabhakara, who joins as the company’s head of enterprise integrations.

Ory has more than 31 employees, some of whom work remotely in various cities across the U.S., Europe and India.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Company has raised nearly $42 million in capital

Ory’s acquisition of BoxyHQ is its first under the leadership of Jeff Kukowski, who joined the company as CEO in April 2024.

Prior to joining Ory, Kukowski was CEO of Maryland-based cloud software company CloudBolt. He also held leadership roles at SecureAuth, Yubico and served as chief marketing officer and chief operating officer of Axon, the Scottsdale-based Taser manufacturing company.

“BoxyHQ fits perfectly into Ory’s modern framework because it has its roots in enabling open source innovation and transparency in addition to being composable, which means companies can use the components they need as open source software, a fully integrated managed service, or self-managed solution,” Kukowski said in a statement.

As part of the deal, Ory is maintaining BoxyHQ's Jackson project, an open-source toolkit now known as Ory Polis that helps software developers quickly add enterprise single sign-on software capabilities to their apps.

Aeneas Rekkas and Thomas Aidan Curran launched Ory in 2015 as an open-source project focused on identity and access management solutions. In 2019, they established Ory as a company to further develop and scale their identity and access management solutions.

In April 2024, Ory closed a $5 million series A extension round led by Insight Ventures and Balderton Capital to fuel product development. To date, Ory has raised $41.8 million in capital, according to the company.

Final Thoughts:

Scottsdale’s rise as a tech powerhouse continues with Ory Corp.’s strategic acquisition of BoxyHQ. This move not only strengthens Ory’s global capabilities in identity and access management but also reinforces Arizona’s reputation as a thriving hub for cloud security innovation. For professionals and tech-savvy buyers considering a relocation, Scottsdale offers more than sunshine, It offers opportunity. With industry leaders like Ory choosing to grow and invest locally, the city remains an ideal destination for those seeking forward-thinking communities, dynamic careers, and a high quality of life.