CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Clutch Security vs Knostic

Clutch Security sells a platform that treats every agent as a non-human identity with credentials and governs those credentials through their full lifecycle across 100+ integrations. Knostic discovers and secures agents, coding assistants, and their supply chain, from MCP to skills and Code to Cowork. CISO Tribune files both under AI model and agent security. 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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  • Clutch Security
  • Knostic
Clutch Security vs Knostic: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
Clutch SecurityClutch Security sells a platform that treats every agent as a non-human identity with credentials and governs those credentials through their full lifecycle across 100+ integrations.clutch.securityKnosticKnostic discovers and secures agents, coding assistants, and their supply chain, from MCP to skills and Code to Cowork.knostic.ai
What it sells
  • Clutch PlatformA platform that combines identity, AI agent and secret security in a single product.
  • Discovery & Inventory (NHI)Maps every non-human identity to the people and systems behind it.
  • Lifecycle ManagementTracks ownership, expiration, and access reviews for non-human identities.
  • Posture & Risk ManagementPrioritizes identity and agent risks by access scope and blast radius.
  • Threat Detection & ResponseDetects anomalous identity and agent behavior such as credential theft and responds with context.
  • Secret Governance[1]Manages secret lifecycle, ownership, and hygiene across environments, including contextual scanning for leaked secrets.
  • Kirin[4][5][6][7][11]Runs on the endpoint inside supported agents. Denies or blocks unsafe agent actions.
  • AgentMesh[4][5][6][7][11]Rates every skill, server, and extension.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesReston, United States[3]
Founded
Not stated on its pages2023[2][7]
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesPrivately held[5]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
Not stated on its pages
  • June 12, 2026Knostic was recognized in the Cloud Security Alliance's first Agentic AI Security Innovator Market Map.[10]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, Clutch Security sells mainly to security teams that need tools for non-human identity security. Clutch Security also refers to enterprises as the organizations that keep each non-human identity monitored, validated or ephemeral with its platform. Its deployment covers cloud providers, SaaS applications, code repositories, CI/CD pipelines, vaults, password managers, endpoints and AI platforms. Teams that work in SIEM, SOAR, ticketing and collaboration tools receive insights, alerts and remediation actions from Clutch Security in those tools.From its own pages, the company sells mainly to developers and teams that use AI coding agents and IDEs, with plans written for individual developers, growing teams, and engineering managers. Its pages describe developers and business users who install agents, extensions, MCP servers, and skills from open ecosystems. It lists an inventory export described as a register of AI systems for compliance and risk reporting. Its stated support covers macOS and Windows.
Last verified
November 6, 2026September 27, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Clutch Security and Knostic are both filed under AI model and agent security.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Clutch Security's primary category is Non-human identity security; Knostic's is AI model and agent security.
  • Clutch Security is also filed under Secrets detection. Knostic is also filed under AI governance.
  • Clutch Security lists Clutch Platform, Discovery & Inventory (NHI), Lifecycle Management, Posture & Risk Management, Threat Detection & Response and 1 more. Knostic lists Kirin and AgentMesh.
  • Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States.
  • Knostic was founded in 2023.
  • Knostic is privately held.

What it sells: Knostic

What Kirin does[4][5][6][7][11]
Kirin runs on the endpoint inside supported agents and sees the tools, extensions, servers, and skills actually installed and used. Kirin denies a destructive command before it executes, tells the developer why, and logs a Prevented alert for the SOC. Kirin blocks the connection to an MCP server before it is established, after AgentMesh scans and rates the server. Kirin deploys as an extension for Cursor and VS Code.
What AgentMesh does[4][5][6][7][11]
AgentMesh rates every skill, server, and extension. AgentMesh scans MCP servers for prompt injection, malicious behaviour, and supply-chain risk. AgentMesh detects prompt injection in skills, MCP servers, and extensions before install. Every paid AgentMesh plan includes Kirin IDE security.

Questions about Clutch Security and Knostic

What do Clutch Security and Knostic sell?
Clutch Security sells Clutch Platform, Discovery & Inventory (NHI), Lifecycle Management, Posture & Risk Management, Threat Detection & Response and 1 more. Knostic sells Kirin and AgentMesh.
Are Clutch Security and Knostic in the same category?
They share AI model and agent security. Clutch Security's primary category is Non-human identity security and Knostic's is AI model and agent security.
Where are Clutch Security and Knostic headquartered?
Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States.
When were Clutch Security and Knostic founded?
Knostic was founded in 2023.
Who owns Clutch Security and Knostic?
Knostic is privately held.
Who are Clutch Security and Knostic sold to?
From its own pages, Clutch Security sells mainly to security teams that need tools for non-human identity security. From its own pages, the company sells mainly to developers and teams that use AI coding agents and IDEs, with plans written for individual developers, growing teams, and engineering managers.
What have Clutch Security and Knostic announced recently?
June 12, 2026: Knostic was recognized in the Cloud Security Alliance's first Agentic AI Security Innovator Market Map.

About Clutch Security

Clutch Security sells a platform that treats every agent as a non-human identity with credentials and governs those credentials through their full lifecycle across 100+ integrations. Clutch Security provides visibility, governance and Zero Trust enforcement across non-human identities, AI agents and secrets. Clutch Security states that it gives security teams tools for non-human identity security, covering visibility, governance, posture and risk management, detection and response, and Zero Trust-based protection.[1][2][3][4][5]

Clutch Security says organizations often lack visibility into which non-human identities they have, how they are managed and the risks they pose. Clutch Security describes non-human identities as typically usable from anywhere with little restriction.[5][6]

Identity Lineage® from Clutch Security maps every identity, agent and secret to its origin, owners, storage, consumers and resources. Clutch Security discovers and correlates non-human identities across cloud, SaaS and on-premises environments, building a contextualized inventory automatically and continuously. Clutch Security traces each agent from the person who deployed it through its tools, credentials and the resources it can access. Clutch Security tracks each secret across every location where it exists.[2][4][7]

Clutch Security manages the full lifecycle of identities, agents and secrets, including ownership, access reviews, expiration and accountability. Clutch Security assesses posture and reduces risk across identities, agents and secrets, prioritized by what each one can access and the damage a compromise would cause. Clutch Security names overprivileged service accounts, agents with production credentials and secrets stored outside the vault as examples of risks it surfaces. Clutch Security attaches remediation context to each risk. Clutch Security workflows handle remediation, rotation, certification and policy enforcement.[4][7]

Clutch Security monitors behavior and access patterns across identities and AI agents. Clutch Security enforces Zero Trust for non-human identities with continuous verification, least privilege access and ephemeral identities. Clutch Security applies Zero Trust controls to identities and migrates static credentials to short-lived alternatives. Clutch Security describes a progressive identity security model that establishes behavioral baselines, applies ACL enforcement and transitions to ephemeral credentials. Clutch Security builds trust policies based on observed behavior and usage patterns. For agents, Clutch Security says they get short-lived, scoped credentials issued through Clutch Security instead of inheriting ambient developer credentials.[3][4][6][7][8]

Clutch Security connects to cloud providers, SaaS apps, vaults, code repos and endpoints through 100+ integrations that are API-based and agentless. Clutch Security connects to cloud providers, SaaS applications, code repositories, CI/CD pipelines, vaults, password managers, endpoints and AI platforms. Insights, alerts and remediation actions from Clutch Security flow into SIEM, SOAR, ticketing and collaboration tools. Clutch Security uses a Zero Knowledge Architecture that keeps all data within the customer network, and no credentials are stored or transmitted.[4][7]

Clutch Security lists SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 among its certifications.[1][5][8][9]

Clutch Security on the record

Sources

Clutch Security full record

  1. [1]clutch.securityClutch Security · clutch.security · undated page, accessed November 6, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]New website launchClutch Security · clutch.security · published July 6, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]Agentic AI security, why identity, not the model, is the real control planeClutch Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Clutch | Secure Every Identity, Agent, and Secret Across Your EnvironmentClutch Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Taking the Lead in Identity Security for the AI EraClutch Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Zero Trust Verification | Clutch SecurityClutch Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Platform | Clutch SecurityClutch Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Zero Trust Protection | Clutch SecurityClutch Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Trust CenterClutch Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

Knostic full record

  1. [1]Knostic - The control plane for agentic AI on the endpointKnostic · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Ending llm oversharing we raised 11 million to secure enterprise aiKnostic · knostic.ai · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Rsac 2025 innovation sandbox knostic reshaping the access control paradigm for enterprise ai securitySecurity Boulevard · securityboulevard.com · published April 25, 2025 · Tier B
  4. [4]Shadow AI Discovery & Governance - KnosticKnostic · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Pricing - KnosticKnostic · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]AI Agent Security - KnosticKnostic · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]MCP Security Posture Management - KnosticKnostic · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Terms of Service - KnosticKnostic · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Knostic Knostic Trust Center | Powered by SafeBaseKnostic · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Knostic Featured Across Three Categories in CSA's Agentic AI Security Innovator Market MapKnostic · published June 12, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Prompt Injection Defense - KnosticKnostic · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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