CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

C1.ai vs Onyx Security

C1.ai gives agents policy-controlled access to models, tools, and credentials at runtime. Onyx Security sells a secure control plane for AI agents and models. CISO Tribune files both under Non-human identity security and 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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  • C1.ai
  • Onyx Security
C1.ai vs Onyx Security: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
C1.aiC1.ai gives agents policy-controlled access to models, tools, and credentials at runtime.c1.aiOnyx SecurityOnyx Security sells a secure control plane for AI agents and models.onyx.security
What it sells
  • AI-Native Identity Governance[1][2]Automates lifecycle, access requests, reviews, and compliance for human and non-human identities.
  • NHI & Identity Security[1][2]Discovers and alerts on identity and non-human identity risks across the workforce and agents.
  • Agent SSO & Runtime Governance[1][2]Enforces runtime guardrails and access controls for AI agents, with human-in-the-loop approval.
  • Apps & MCP Self Service[1][2]Provides on-demand self-service access to approved apps, MCPs, and AI tools.
  • Deploy Custom Agents[1][2]Lets organizations run autonomous agents across connected systems with guardrails.
  • Shadow AI Discovery[1][2]Finds unsanctioned AI tools, agents, MCP servers, and credentials in use.
  • AI Security[1][7]Onyx provides the runtime and posture layer of the Onyx Secure AI Control Plane.
  • MCP Gateway[8]The MCP Gateway governs the agent-to-tool surface.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • October 13, 2026Workday announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire C1.ai, with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday's fiscal year 2027, ending January 31, 2027.[9]
  • July 29, 2026Onyx Security announced a $113 million Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.[15]
  • March 12, 2026Onyx Security officially launched operations after securing $40 million in initial funding.[14]
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, C1.ai sells to organisations that manage access for people, non-human identities, and agents, and to technical teams that extend the platform through APIs and Terraform. The pages describe governed access for infrastructure teams through the tools they already use. The pages cover on-premises technology such as Active Directory and back-office apps. A named energy-sector customer sought an identity governance solution after an external auditor recommended one to streamline user access reviews.From its own pages, Onyx Security sells mainly to security, governance, and AI teams that need control over AI agent adoption across the enterprise. Onyx Security describes a single platform for security, governance, and infrastructure teams. Onyx Security offers cloud, hybrid, or self-hosted options for organisations with sensitive data residency requirements. Onyx Security presents one console for AI agents and models across SaaS, cloud, endpoint, and code environments. Onyx Security names security, finance, and platform teams as the teams that share its usage, cost, and policy ledger.
Last verified
November 2, 2026October 19, 2026

Where they overlap

  • C1.ai and Onyx Security are both filed under Non-human identity security and AI model and agent security.

Where they differ, field by field

  • C1.ai's primary category is Identity governance and administration; Onyx Security's is AI model and agent security.
  • C1.ai is also filed under Privileged access management. Onyx Security is also filed under AI governance and Workforce AI usage security.
  • C1.ai lists AI-Native Identity Governance, NHI & Identity Security, Agent SSO & Runtime Governance, Apps & MCP Self Service, Deploy Custom Agents and 1 more. Onyx Security lists AI Security and MCP Gateway.

What it sells: Onyx Security

What AI Security does[1][7]
Onyx provides the runtime and posture layer of the Onyx Secure AI Control Plane. Onyx inspects every prompt, tool call, and model response inline across browser AI, coding assistants, desktop AI agents, cloud workloads, and MCP servers. Onyx offers five enforcement actions: alert, block, mask, steer, or ask.
What MCP Gateway does[8]
The MCP Gateway governs the agent-to-tool surface. Every tool call an agent makes to an MCP server gets inspected and policy-enforced. MCP Gateway coverage spans the MCP ecosystem, including servers using dynamic client registration and popular servers like GitHub.

Questions about C1.ai and Onyx Security

What do C1.ai and Onyx Security sell?
C1.ai sells AI-Native Identity Governance, NHI & Identity Security, Agent SSO & Runtime Governance, Apps & MCP Self Service, Deploy Custom Agents and 1 more. Onyx Security sells AI Security and MCP Gateway.
Are C1.ai and Onyx Security in the same category?
They share Non-human identity security and AI model and agent security. C1.ai's primary category is Identity governance and administration and Onyx Security's is AI model and agent security.
Who are C1.ai and Onyx Security sold to?
From its own pages, C1.ai sells to organisations that manage access for people, non-human identities, and agents, and to technical teams that extend the platform through APIs and Terraform. From its own pages, Onyx Security sells mainly to security, governance, and AI teams that need control over AI agent adoption across the enterprise.
What have C1.ai and Onyx Security announced recently?
October 13, 2026: Workday announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire C1.ai, with the transaction expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday's fiscal year 2027, ending January 31, 2027. July 29, 2026: Onyx Security announced a $113 million Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

About C1.ai

C1.ai gives agents policy-controlled access to models, tools, and credentials at runtime. C1 Agents complete multi-step jobs across connected systems, with human approval for sensitive changes. C1.ai connects to SaaS, cloud infra providers, on-prem systems, and MCP servers.[2]

On the governance side, C1.ai turns HR and directory events into day-one account and access changes across supported systems. C1.ai provisions users the access they need based on conditions and policy. C1.ai applies policy-based provisioning and routing to any connected system. C1.ai covers user access reviews and separation-of-duties (SoD) conflict detection. C1.ai gives people and agents self-service access to approved applications and AI tools, with policy applied before fulfillment.[1][2][3]

For self-service, C1.ai makes approved apps, MCP servers, AI tools, roles, and permissions discoverable from one catalog. People and agents can request access from the web, Slack, Microsoft Teams, MCP, API, or CLI. C1.ai auto-approves routine access and routes sensitive requests using identity, role, resource, and risk context. C1.ai expires just-in-time access automatically so temporary permissions do not become standing access.[4]

For cloud infrastructure, C1.ai provides engineers and agents with precisely scoped cloud access. C1.ai reads cloud providers' resource trees, preserving the parent-child relationships each platform uses natively. C1.ai resolves inherited permissions in real time. C1.ai provisions, adjusts, and revokes access automatically as roles change, teams shift, or agents are redeployed.

Every action in the console is available via API, and C1.ai operates as an MCP server. C1.ai governs human, service, workload, and AI agent identities from one control plane. C1.ai logs every action with full context: subject, actor, delegation chain, purpose, resource, policy, and outcome. C1.ai supports policies as Terraform, AI-written CEL and functions, and validation via API. Technical teams extend C1.ai with APIs, custom functions, CLI, webhooks, and an AI integration builder, and manage it with Terraform.[2][6]

C1.ai includes 300+ connectors, built on Baton, which is open source under Apache 2.0, that integrate IdPs, directories, SaaS apps, cloud infrastructure, and on-prem systems into one identity graph. The connectors can be hosted or self-hosted. The identity graph ingests identity, permission, and resource data from all of your systems. C1.ai visualizes access paths for users, non-human identities, applications, and resources. C1.ai addresses access risks such as orphaned accounts, inactive users, and high-risk users. C1.ai offers built-in remediation options such as downgrading access, offboarding accounts, and securing service accounts. C1.ai connects to non-cloud infrastructure, including LDAP, Postgres, and Microsoft SQL. C1.ai covers on-premises technology such as Active Directory and homegrown and back-office apps.[1][6][7]

IGS Energy started looking for a partner after an external auditor recommended an identity governance solution to streamline user access reviews.[1][2][8]

C1.ai on the record

Sources

C1.ai full record

  1. [1]conductorone.comConductorOne (C1.ai) · conductorone.com · undated page, accessed November 2, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]C1.ai | Put AI to WorkC1.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]AI-Native Identity Governance Solutions | C1.aiC1.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Self-Service Access for Apps, MCPs, and AI Tools | C1.aiC1.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Infrastructure Access - C1.aiC1.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Headless Identity Infrastructure | C1.aiC1.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Identity Graph - C1.aiC1.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Automating access management and reducing risk for IGS Energy’s hybrid environment | C1.aiC1.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Workday to Acquire C1.ai, a Leading Agentic Identity Platform for People and AgentsC1.ai · published October 13, 2026 · Tier A

Onyx Security full record

  1. [1]onyx.securityOnyx Security · onyx.security · undated page, accessed October 19, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]The Secure AI Control Plane for the Agentic Era | OnyxOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]About Onyx | The Team Behind the AI Control PlaneOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]One Platform to Discover and Control Every AI Agent | OnyxOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]AI Observability – Discover Every Agent & Session | OnyxOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]AI Agent Security | Block Prompt Injection in Real TimeOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]AI Governance Platform Built for the EU AI Act | OnyxOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]AI Orchestration – Governed Routing & Control | OnyxOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]AI ROI Platform – Prove Value & Control Costs | OnyxOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Secure Claude Enterprise with Onyx | Anthropic IntegrationOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Secure ChatGPT Enterprise with Onyx | OpenAI IntegrationOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Secure Amazon Bedrock Agents | Onyx IntegrationOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]Copilot Studio Security – Discover, Govern & Control | OnyxOnyx Security · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Israeli cyber firm Onyx Security launches operations with $40 million funding round | ReutersReuters · published March 12, 2026 · Tier B
  15. [15]Onyx Security Raises $113M Series B to Control Advanced AI, Quadrupling Revenue since Stealth Launch Four Months AgoBusiness Wire · published July 29, 2026 · Tier A

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