CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Knostic vs Lakera

Knostic discovers and secures agents, coding assistants, and their supply chain, from MCP to skills and Code to Cowork. Lakera sells AI Red Teaming, AI Agent Security and Workforce AI Security, which together help organizations secure employees, applications, and autonomous agents. 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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  • Knostic
  • Lakera
Knostic vs Lakera: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
KnosticKnostic discovers and secures agents, coding assistants, and their supply chain, from MCP to skills and Code to Cowork.knostic.aiLakeraLakera sells AI Red Teaming, AI Agent Security and Workforce AI Security, which together help organizations secure employees, applications, and autonomous agents.lakera.ai
What it sells
  • 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.
  • AI Red Teaming[1][5][6]A continuous workflow to evaluate, scan, and red team AI applications and agents.
Categories
Headquarters
Reston, United States[3]Zurich, Switzerland[2]
Founded
2023[2][7]2021[2]
Ownership and funding
Privately held[5]Owned by Check Point Software Technologies since 2025[3][5]
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • June 12, 2026Knostic was recognized in the Cloud Security Alliance's first Agentic AI Security Innovator Market Map.[10]
Not stated on its pages
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, 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.Lakera describes organizations that run AI across employees, applications, and autonomous agents as the audience for its three AI security products. Lakera positions AI Agent Security for organizations that build and deploy agents. Lakera Guard is sold for LLM applications.
Last verified
September 27, 2026November 2, 2026

Where they overlap

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

Where they differ, field by field

  • Knostic's primary category is AI model and agent security; Lakera's is AI firewalls and guardrails.
  • Knostic is also filed under AI governance. Lakera is also filed under Workforce AI usage security.
  • Knostic lists Kirin and AgentMesh. Lakera lists AI Red Teaming.
  • Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States. Lakera is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Knostic was founded in 2023. Lakera was founded in 2021.
  • Knostic is privately held. Lakera is owned by Check Point Software Technologies, since 2025.

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.

What it sells: Lakera

What AI Red Teaming does[1][5][6]
AI Red Teaming tests with prompt injection, jailbreaks, tool exploitation, and multi-turn attacks against real systems. AI Red Teaming provides exploit validation, severity scoring, and remediation guidance. AI Red Teaming is available for text, audio, image, and multi-modal systems.

Questions about Knostic and Lakera

What do Knostic and Lakera sell?
Knostic sells Kirin and AgentMesh. Lakera sells AI Red Teaming.
Are Knostic and Lakera in the same category?
They share AI model and agent security. Knostic's primary category is AI model and agent security and Lakera's is AI firewalls and guardrails.
Where are Knostic and Lakera headquartered?
Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States. Lakera is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.
When were Knostic and Lakera founded?
Knostic was founded in 2023. Lakera was founded in 2021.
Who owns Knostic and Lakera?
Knostic is privately held. Lakera is owned by Check Point Software Technologies, since 2025.
Who are Knostic and Lakera sold to?
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. Lakera describes organizations that run AI across employees, applications, and autonomous agents as the audience for its three AI security products.
What have Knostic and Lakera announced recently?
June 12, 2026: Knostic was recognized in the Cloud Security Alliance's first Agentic AI Security Innovator Market Map.

About Knostic

Knostic discovers and secures agents, coding assistants, and their supply chain, from MCP to skills and Code to Cowork. Knostic enforces rules by checking every action against policy before it runs, so allowed actions proceed and risky ones are blocked or sent to a human. Knostic applies least privilege to what agents do, watches every action as it happens, and blocks the unsafe ones before they execute.[1][6]

Kirin is the Knostic product that runs on the endpoint inside supported agents. Kirin sees the tools, extensions, servers, and skills actually installed and used. In one example, Kirin denies a destructive command before it executes, tells the developer why, and logs a Prevented alert for the SOC. AgentMesh rates every skill, server, and extension. Every paid AgentMesh plan includes Kirin IDE security.[4][6][11]

Knostic discovers every agent, model, and AI tool running across endpoints, attributes each to people and teams, and brings them under one policy. Knostic finds agents, extensions, MCP servers, and skills where they run, on the endpoint, rather than inferring from network logs. Discovery is passive, and policy can run in Monitor mode before anything is enforced. Discovered components are rated using AgentMesh verdicts and policy posture. Knostic maps which teams and individuals use which tools and what they can reach.[4][6]

Knostic describes one control plane for all agents, models, and AI tools. Knostic unifies and centrally governs agentic security policies and configurations. Teams can scope what agents may read, write, run, connect to, and install, per team. Knostic describes its guardrails for SaaS, in-house, coding, and Cowork agents.[1][6]

For prompt injection, Kirin catches the injection and blocks the action it would have caused. Kirin inspects what an agent is about to do, not just what it was told. Knostic scans prompts, retrieved context, and tool responses for injection and malicious instructions. Knostic catches credentials in prompts and outputs and blocks or redacts them, in Monitor or Enforce. Teams choose block, downgrade, route to a human, or log per rule and per team. For code, Knostic states that agents model threats before they code, follow secure coding rules, and have every package checked.[1][11]

Knostic keeps an up-to-date list of allowed MCP servers, with every connection validated in real time. Knostic flags deviations from policy or misconfigurations as they occur. AgentMesh continuously rescans the ecosystem, and Knostic research feeds new detections. Decision logs and runtime monitoring provide evidence for audits, incident response, and policy enforcement.[6]

Kirin supports Claude Code CLI, Claude Desktop and Cowork, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code + GitHub Copilot, on macOS and Windows, and Linux is in beta. Managers provision the console, push the endpoint client to the endpoints, directly or via an existing MDM, and start in Monitor mode. For Cursor and VS Code, Kirin deploys as an extension and requires the client for shadow AI visibility.

Kirin has three tiers, from individual developers to enterprise-wide rollouts. Knostic provides a package with SOC 2, pen test reports, and a data flow diagram in its trust center. Knostic Inc. is a company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.[4][8][9]

Knostic on the record

Sources

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

Lakera full record

  1. [1]Lakera: The AI-Native Security Platform to Accelerate GenAILakera · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Check point acquires lakera to deliver end to end ai security for enterprisesCheck Point Software Technologies · checkpoint.com · published September 16, 2025 · Tier A
  3. [3]Check point software reports fourth quarter and 2025 full year resultsCheck Point Software Technologies · checkpoint.com · published February 12, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]AI Agent Security Overview | Check Point AI SecurityLakera documentation · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Workforce AI Security | Lakera, a Check Point CompanyLakera · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]AI Red Teaming Services: Expert-led adversarial testingLakera · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]AI Guardrails Dashboard | Check Point AI SecurityLakera documentation · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Secure AI Agents from Discovery to RuntimeLakera · undated page, accessed October 26, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]Lakera Launches Open-Source Security Benchmark for LLM Backends in AI AgentsBusiness Wire · published October 28, 2025 · Tier A
  10. [10]Product Peek: Introducing Lakera’s Advanced Content ModerationLakera · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Q4 2025 AI Agent Security TrendsLakera · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]AI Security for Product Teams HandbookLakera · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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