Cloudflare stock soars as it becomes Big Tech’s AI "connector"

Cloudflare (NET) is emerging as a key building block in the AI infrastructure boom, and investors are piling in.

The cloud-based cybersecurity firm is now helping some of the biggest tech companies connect directly to AI agents like Claude, the assistant developed by Anthropic.

As AI agents become the next big computing interface, Cloudflare is positioning itself as the secure connective tissue powering that transition.

Last month, Cloudflare announced it was working with Asana, Atlassian, Block, PayPal, Sentry, and Stripe to help their platforms integrate with Claude using its Cloudflare Workers software.

These tools allow apps to connect with Claude through Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open-source standard designed to let AI assistants access external tools and services in real time.

MCP enables users to complete tasks without leaving the assistant, but the infrastructure to do this securely and at scale isn’t trivial.

That’s where Cloudflare comes in. By leveraging its Workers platform, companies can spin up a secure MCP server with built-in authentication and access controls without rebuilding their tech stack.

“Cloudflare is powering how AI connects to the world,” said CEO Matthew Prince. “Whether it's through a browser, an app, or an AI assistant like Claude, we're the backbone making those experiences fast, secure, and reliable.”

“As agentic AI becomes the new interface,” Prince added, “Cloudflare is the core infrastructure companies will rely on to build and scale their AI strategies.”

The company is also reinforcing its role as a trusted data custodian.

This week, Cloudflare announced it had earned two major global privacy certifications: the Global CBPR and Global PRP. These standards, created by a coalition of nine governments, cover how companies handle personal data across borders.

“Cloudflare has a long history of putting privacy first,” said Prince. “Now we’re one of the first organizations to achieve these new global certifications.”

Wall Street has taken notice. Cloudflare’s stock has jumped 63.8% year-to-dare and surged 152.4% over the past year. Oppenheimer reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating on Thursday and raised its price target to $200, up from $165.

The takeaway here is that as AI agents reshape how users interact with software, Cloudflare is quietly cementing its role as the secure, scalable backbone for that future.