Runlayer launches AI agent security startup with $11 million seed round
Key Points
- Runlayer raised $11 million in seed funding led by Khosla Ventures’ Keith Rabois and Felicis.
- Founder Andrew Berman previously built Nanit and sold Vowel to Zapier.
- The platform offers a gateway, threat detection, observability, and fine‑grained permissions for MCP security.
- Early customers include eight unicorns and public companies such as Gusto, Rippling, Instacart, and Ramp.
- MCP creator David Soria Parra joined as an angel investor and advisor.
- Runlayer integrates with identity providers like Okta and Entra and supports major model providers.
- Advisors also include security leaders from Cursor and Neon.
Runlayer, a security startup built around the Model Context Protocol (MCP), emerged from stealth with an $11 million seed investment led by Khosla Ventures’ Keith Rabois and Felicis. Founded by third‑time entrepreneur Andrew Berman, the company already counts eight unicorns and public firms—including Gusto, Rippling, dbt Labs, Instacart, Opendoor, and Ramp—as early customers. Runlayer’s platform combines a gateway, threat detection, observability, and fine‑grained permissions, aiming to protect AI agents that interact with enterprise data. Advisors include the creator of MCP, David Soria Parra, and security leaders from Cursor and Neon.
Launch and Funding
Runlayer announced its emergence from stealth with a seed round of $11 million. The round was anchored by Khosla Ventures’ Keith Rabois and Felicis, signaling strong investor confidence in the company’s focus on securing AI agents that use the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
Founding Team and Vision
The company is the brainchild of Andrew Berman, a third‑time founder who previously created baby‑monitor maker Nanit and AI video‑conferencing tool Vowel, which was sold to Zapier in 2024. Berman’s experience includes serving as director of Zapier’s AI efforts and building one of the first MCP servers in close collaboration with OpenAI and Anthropic. He assembled a co‑founding team that includes former Zapier executives Tal Peretz and Vitor Balocco.
Product Offering
Runlayer delivers an all‑in‑one security suite for MCP implementations. The platform functions as a gateway that identifies AI agents and controls their access to applications. It adds threat detection that scrutinizes every MCP request, observability that logs agent activity across all permitted servers, and enterprise development tools that let IT craft custom AI automations. Fine‑grained permissions integrate with identity providers such as Okta and Entra, matching agent permissions to the underlying human user rights.
Market Context and Competition
The rapid adoption of MCP has exposed security gaps, with several high‑profile vulnerabilities reported by researchers and companies like GitHub and Asana. These incidents have spurred a wave of MCP security products from established firms—including Cloudflare, Docker, and Wiz—as well as a host of startups. Runlayer differentiates itself by bundling gateway functionality with threat detection, observability, and permission management in a single solution.
Early Customers and Advisory Support
Within four months of launching its product in stealth, Runlayer signed dozens of customers, among them eight unicorns or publicly traded companies such as Gusto, Rippling, dbt Labs, Instacart, Opendoor, and Ramp. The company also secured the support of David Soria Parra, the lead creator of MCP, who joined as an angel investor and advisor. Additional advisors include Travis McPeak, head of security at Cursor, and Nikita Shamgunov, founder of Neon.
Outlook
By combining a comprehensive security layer with deep integrations across major model providers—OpenAI, Microsoft, AWS, Google—and a broad ecosystem of enterprise software, Runlayer aims to make AI agents safe and reliable for enterprise use. The company’s early traction, high‑profile backers, and experienced team position it to address the growing demand for robust MCP security solutions.