CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Kai vs ReliaQuest

Kai is an AI company that sells the Kai Autonomous Defense Platform, an agentic AI platform for cyber asset management, application security, infrastructure vulnerability management, and detection engineering. ReliaQuest sells GreyMatter, an agentic AI security operations platform that allows security teams to detect, contain, investigate and respond to threats, regardless of the data source. CISO Tribune files both under AI SOC analysts and External attack surface management. 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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  • Kai
  • ReliaQuest
Kai vs ReliaQuest: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
KaiKai is an AI company that sells the Kai Autonomous Defense Platform, an agentic AI platform for cyber asset management, application security, infrastructure vulnerability management, and detection engineering.kai.securityReliaQuestReliaQuest sells GreyMatter, an agentic AI security operations platform that allows security teams to detect, contain, investigate and respond to threats, regardless of the data source.reliaquest.com
What it sells
  • Kai Autonomous Defense Platform[4][13]An agentic AI platform that executes the exposure lifecycle end to end without human handoffs.
  • Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM)[7]Runs all five CTEM phases and adds auto-remediation and detection as phases six and seven.
  • Kai Watch[7]Monitors telemetry to identify active exploitation while fixes are in progress.
  • AI-native SAST[15]A SAST capability in preview for select customers.
  • GreyMatter[1][2][3][4][6][7][8][9][10][11]An agentic AI security operations platform for security teams to detect, contain, investigate and respond to threats.
  • GreyMatter Detect[6][9]Centralizes all created rule logic in a library from any author.
  • Universal Translator[2][3]A patented way to normalize data collected from any source or technology.
Categories
Headquarters
San Jose, United StatesNot stated on its pages
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Privately held[5]Not stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • July 29, 2026Kai announced findings from its 2026 State of Autonomous Defense Report and made its Auto Remediation capability available.[16]
  • March 10, 2026Kai emerged from stealth with $125 million in funding, led by Evolution Equity Partners with participation from N47 and strategic investors.[11]
  • August 14, 2026Florida State Athletics named ReliaQuest its official jersey patch partner for men's basketball starting with the 2026-27 season.[12]
G2 and Gartner Peer Insights
  • G2: Not stated on its pages
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
  • G2: listed, seen November 10, 2026[13]
  • Gartner Peer Insights: Not stated on its pages
Who it fits
From its own pages, the company sells mainly to enterprises. A blog post on its site says it has delivered autonomous security work for enterprises across multiple verticals. Its detection phase names SIEM, EDR, and XDR as the places where it deploys rules. It also says humans control the boundary between autonomous action and human review.ReliaQuest describes enterprises that adopt tools to keep up with evolving demands. ReliaQuest addresses organizations that manage security across multiple business units. ReliaQuest describes multicloud and multi-SIEM environments as ones that GreyMatter covers. ReliaQuest addresses organizations that run both OT and IT environments, including threats targeting critical infrastructure. ReliaQuest sells GreyMatter for environments that connect sources like SIEM, EDR, network security, and cloud tools.
Last verified
September 27, 2026November 6, 2026

Where they overlap

  • AI SOC analysts is the primary category of both Kai and ReliaQuest; both are also filed under External attack surface management.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Kai is also filed under Threat intelligence. ReliaQuest is also filed under Digital risk protection and SOAR and security automation.
  • Kai lists Kai Autonomous Defense Platform, Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM), Kai Watch and AI-native SAST. ReliaQuest lists GreyMatter, GreyMatter Detect and Universal Translator.
  • Kai is headquartered in San Jose, United States.
  • Kai is privately held.

How they differ

CISO Tribune files both Kai and ReliaQuest under AI SOC analysts as their primary category, and both also appear under external attack surface management. Kai sells the Kai Autonomous Defense Platform, an agentic AI platform that executes the exposure lifecycle end to end, through remediation. Kai also sells CTEM with auto-remediation and detection as phases six and seven, Kai Watch for monitoring exploitation while fixes are in progress, and an AI-native SAST capability in preview. ReliaQuest sells GreyMatter, an agentic AI security operations platform for detecting, containing, investigating and responding to threats regardless of the data source. ReliaQuest also sells GreyMatter Detect, a rule library for testing detections, and Universal Translator for normalizing data.

Kai is privately held and headquartered in San Jose, United States. Kai emerged from stealth on March 10, 2026, with $125 million in funding led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from N47 and strategic investors. ReliaQuest is headquartered in Tampa, FL. ReliaQuest states a valuation of over $3.4 billion, over 1,000 customers, and revenue growth to more than $400M in 2025.

Kai says it has delivered autonomous security work for Fortune 500 and Global 1000 enterprises across multiple verticals. On July 29, 2026, Kai announced findings from its 2026 State of Autonomous Defense Report and made its Auto Remediation capability available. On August 14, 2026, Florida State Athletics named ReliaQuest its official jersey patch partner for men's basketball.

What it sells: Kai

What Kai Autonomous Defense Platform does[4][13]
The Kai Autonomous Defense Platform executes the exposure lifecycle end to end without human handoffs. Kai aggregates findings from existing security and IT systems, determines reachability and exploitability, discards what cannot be exploited, attaches evidence to what survives, and then remediates. Kai agents interrogate CMDB, endpoint, cloud, identity, scanning, and code systems, then rebuild each asset record from the evidence they find.
What Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) does[7]
Kai runs all five phases, then adds two more: it executes the assigned fix immediately, and it watches exposed assets with targeted detection rules until remediated. Auto-remediation sits at phase six, where Kai takes immediate action once a fix is assigned.
What Kai Watch does[7]
Kai Watch continuously monitors telemetry to identify active exploitation. Kai Watch deploys validated detection rules to contain risk across the environment while fixes are in progress. Kai Watch is part of the detection phase, which Kai places at phase seven once remediation is underway.
What AI-native SAST does[15]
Kai is releasing an AI-native SAST capability in preview for select customers. Kai applies AI-native reachability analysis from the start, combining static analysis with runtime behavior to determine whether a finding is actually exploitable before it reaches a human. Kai validated each finding by automatically generating exploits and running them in an out-of-band non-production environment.

What it sells: ReliaQuest

What GreyMatter does[1][2][3][4][6][7][8][9][10][11]
GreyMatter includes 6 agentic Teammates that use hundreds of agent skills and AI tools to work toward an objective, not just tasks. GreyMatter detects threats wherever data lives, whether in the cloud, on the endpoint, inside a SIEM, directly at the source, or in transit. GreyMatter unifies detection, response, and visibility across a multicloud and multi-SIEM environment.
What GreyMatter Detect does[6][9]
GreyMatter Detect centralizes all created rule logic in its library from any author. GreyMatter Detect allows customers to test and validate detections before and after deployment and monitors their performance continuously.

Questions about Kai and ReliaQuest

What do Kai and ReliaQuest sell?
Kai sells Kai Autonomous Defense Platform, Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM), Kai Watch and AI-native SAST. ReliaQuest sells GreyMatter, GreyMatter Detect and Universal Translator.
Are Kai and ReliaQuest in the same category?
Yes. AI SOC analysts is the primary category of both on CISO Tribune.
Where are Kai and ReliaQuest headquartered?
Kai is headquartered in San Jose, United States.
Who owns Kai and ReliaQuest?
Kai is privately held.
Who are Kai and ReliaQuest sold to?
From its own pages, the company sells mainly to enterprises. ReliaQuest describes enterprises that adopt tools to keep up with evolving demands.
What have Kai and ReliaQuest announced recently?
July 29, 2026: Kai announced findings from its 2026 State of Autonomous Defense Report and made its Auto Remediation capability available. August 14, 2026: Florida State Athletics named ReliaQuest its official jersey patch partner for men's basketball starting with the 2026-27 season.

About Kai

Kai is an AI company that sells the Kai Autonomous Defense Platform, an agentic AI platform for cyber asset management, application security, infrastructure vulnerability management, and detection engineering. Kai says its platform is an agentic AI platform built from first principles to do security work end-to-end: gathering exhaustive context, continuously assessing risk, prioritizing action, and reducing risk. Kai describes a single agentic AI platform that does the actual security work autonomously and continuously across threat intelligence, exposure management, detection, response and beyond. Kai says its platform continuously analyzes threat intelligence, vulnerabilities, asset context, and other sources, correlates risk across the environment in real time, and can execute remediation actions.[1][6][13][14]

Kai says AI-enabled attacks arrive faster and in volumes no queue can absorb. Kai says each step of the response belongs to a different tool and team, so the exposure waits at every handoff. Kai describes a gap in which an exposure is confirmed as real and then sits exposed while a team works out how to fix it. Kai describes approved fixes that wait in a ticket queue instead of shipping. Kai says it runs every step on one platform at machine speed. Kai describes its auto-remediation as validating before acting and showing its work at every step.[4][7]

The Kai Autonomous Defense Platform executes the exposure lifecycle end to end without human handoffs. Kai aggregates findings from existing security and IT systems, determines reachability and exploitability, discards what cannot be exploited, attaches evidence to what survives, and then remediates. Kai remediates by writing the change, routing it to the accountable owner, or deploying a compensating detection when a patch is blocked. Kai agents interrogate CMDB, endpoint, cloud, identity, scanning, and code systems, then rebuild each asset record from the evidence they find. Kai writes the change itself and, where a maintenance window blocks the patch, specifies the configuration change to the controls the customer already runs. Kai says some fixes wait on a maintenance window, a vendor patch, or a release, and the exposure stays open the whole time. Kai says it builds detection for the customer environment.[4][9]

Kai says Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) promised a repeatable path from exposure to fix: scope, discover, prioritize, validate, mobilize. Kai runs all five phases, then adds two more: it executes the assigned fix immediately, and it watches exposed assets with targeted detection rules until remediated. Auto-remediation sits at phase six, where Kai takes immediate action once a fix is assigned instead of letting it wait in a queue. Kai executes an assigned fix directly for the majority of confirmed findings. For the complex few findings that need human review, Kai builds the complete remediation plan, identifies the right owner, and stages it for approval. Kai Watch continuously monitors telemetry to identify active exploitation and deploys validated detection rules to contain risk across the environment while fixes are in progress.[4][7]

Kai determines which vulnerabilities are truly reachable and exploitable, then uses AI-native prioritization to rank them by actual risk. While remediation is underway, Kai creates and deploys detection rules to identify exploitation attempts in real time. Kai is releasing an AI-native SAST capability in preview for select customers. In its SAST capability, Kai applies AI-native reachability analysis from the start, combining static analysis with runtime behavior to determine whether a finding is actually exploitable before it reaches a human. Kai validated each finding by automatically generating exploits and running them in an out-of-band non-production environment.[10][15]

Kai was founded by the creators of the category-defining companies Claroty and SecurityMatters. Galina Antova and Dr. Damiano Bolzoni previously built Claroty and SecurityMatters. Kai emerged from stealth with $125 million in funding. Kai says dozens of design partners iterated with it until the vision became something real. Kai says it has delivered autonomous security work across multiple use cases for Fortune 500 and Global 1000 enterprises across multiple verticals. Kai announced the appointment of Alfredo Hickman as Chief Information Security Officer. Kai Cyber Inc. lists its address as 90 Skyport Drive, Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95110.[1][2][4][6][7][9][10][13][14]

Kai on the record

Sources

Kai full record

  1. [1]kai.securityKai · kai.security · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Kai emerges from stealth with 125m powering machine speed defense to outpace ai enabled adversaries 302708978Kai via PR Newswire · prnewswire.co.uk · published March 10, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]kai.securityKai Cyber Inc. · kai.security · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Kai Autonomous Defense Platform | End-to-End Agentic Risk ReductionKai · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]PlatformKai · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]We Aren’t Building a Better Tool. We’re Rebuilding Security. | Kai AI-Native Autonomous Defense PlatformKai · published March 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Continuous Threat Exposure Management | Solutions at KaiKai · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Our Story & Manifesto | Kai Agentic AI PlatformKai · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Cyber Asset Attack Surface ManagementKai · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Mythos | Solutions at KaiKai · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Kai Emerges from Stealth with $125M, Powering Machine-Speed Defense to Outpace AI-Enabled AdversariesKai · published March 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Kai Appoints Alfredo Hickman as CISO to Usher in the Future of AI-Driven Security | Kai Autonomous Defense PlatformKai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]New Research from Kai: UK CISOs Face a Widening AI Security Gap as Attackers Gain the Advantage | Kai Autonomous Defense PlatformKai · published September 21, 2026 · Tier A
  14. [14]Joining Kai as CISO: Rebuilding Security for the AI Era | Kai Autonomous Defense PlatformKai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  15. [15]Kai product update: AI-native SAST and deeper vulnerability validation through membership in Anthropic's Cyber Verification Program | Kai Autonomous Defense PlatformKai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  16. [16]New Research from Kai: CISOs Say AI Is Accelerating Cyber Threats, Driving the Shift to Machine-Led SecurityPR Newswire · published July 29, 2026 · Tier A

ReliaQuest full record

  1. [1]Reliaquest launches first autonomous self learning ai agent for security operationsReliaQuest · reliaquest.com · published September 26, 2024 · Tier A
  2. [2]reliaquest.comReliaQuest · reliaquest.com · undated page, accessed November 6, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]About UsReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Eliminate Tier 1 and Tier 2 Alerts with Agentic AI in ReliaQuest GreyMatterReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Home | ReliaQuest GreyMatter: The Agentic AI Security Operations Platform for Agentic DefenseReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Detect Everything Everywhere with ReliaQuest GreyMatter - Powered by Agentic AIReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]ReliaQuest GreyMatter Integrations: Your Environment + Agentic AI Powered Security OperationsReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Agentic AI Solutions for SecOps - ReliaQuestReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Unified Multi-Cloud and Multi-SIEM Management with Agentic AI in ReliaQuest GreyMatterReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Securing Operational Technology with ReliaQuest GreyMatter, the Agentic AI PlatformReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Measure and Enhance SecOps Metrics with ReliaQuest GreyMatter - Powered by Agentic AIReliaQuest · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Florida State Athletics Announces Historic Jersey Patch Partnership with ReliaQuestReliaQuest · published August 14, 2026 · Tier A
  13. [13]ReliaQuest GreyMatter Reviews & Product DetailsG2 · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier C

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