CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Knostic vs Levo.ai

Knostic discovers and secures agents, coding assistants, and their supply chain, from MCP to skills and Code to Cowork. Levo.ai sells a security platform for APIs and AI assets, covering discovery, visibility and protection for API driven systems. 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
  • Levo.ai
Knostic vs Levo.ai: 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.aiLevo.aiLevo.ai sells a security platform for APIs and AI assets, covering discovery, visibility and protection for API driven systems.levo.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 Firewall[4][6]A security and compliance layer for in-house AI applications.
  • Runtime AI Visibility[7]A kernel level, eBPF powered view of the AI control plane.
  • MCP Discovery[4][8]Discovers MCP servers across laptops, prototypes, production environments and third-party services.
  • API Inventory[4][8]Surfaces how each API behaves, where it exists and what it exposes.
Categories
Headquarters
Reston, United States[3]San Francisco, United States
Founded
2023[2][7]Not 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
  • 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.Its named customers span North America and India and include large enterprises, fintechs and institutions. For fintech teams, Levo.ai describes security for AI systems used in fraud detection, onboarding, underwriting and payments. Levo.ai says it supports companies at all stages and offers cloud-native, hybrid and air-gapped deployment models.
Last verified
September 27, 2026November 9, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Knostic and Levo.ai are both filed under AI model and agent security.
  • Both are headquartered in the United States.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Knostic's primary category is AI model and agent security; Levo.ai's is API security.
  • Knostic is also filed under AI governance.
  • Knostic lists Kirin and AgentMesh. Levo.ai lists AI Firewall, Runtime AI Visibility, MCP Discovery and API Inventory.
  • Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States. Levo.ai is headquartered in San Francisco, 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.

What it sells: Levo.ai

What AI Firewall does[4][6]
Levo gives visibility into AI transactions across prompts, agents, tool calls, API calls and downstream actions. Levo applies AI-aware data protection inline to prevent sensitive data from being exposed through prompts or responses. Levo enforces boundaries on what agents can do, which tools they can call and what parameters they can pass, inline and in real time.
What Runtime AI Visibility does[7]
Runtime AI Visibility covers agents, MCP servers, LLMs and AI applications. Levo auto discovers external and internal LLMs, agents, MCP servers, AI apps, gateways, embeddings and vector stores. Levo maps who authorized an action versus who executed it and surfaces token scopes and auth states.
What MCP Discovery does[4][8]
Levo continuously discovers MCP servers and integrates with MDM and endpoint agents to build an inventory that includes location, owner and context. Each server is enriched with ownership, environment context and usage signals, then assigned a risk score. MCP Discovery deploys via existing MDM and endpoint agents, requiring no proxies or rewrites.
What API Inventory does[4][8]
Levo's API Inventory surfaces how each API behaves, where it exists and what it exposes. Levo autonomously inventories internal, partner, third-party, shadow and zombie API endpoints. Levo maps how sensitive data flows through the APIs it discovers.

Questions about Knostic and Levo.ai

What do Knostic and Levo.ai sell?
Knostic sells Kirin and AgentMesh. Levo.ai sells AI Firewall, Runtime AI Visibility, MCP Discovery and API Inventory.
Are Knostic and Levo.ai in the same category?
They share AI model and agent security. Knostic's primary category is AI model and agent security and Levo.ai's is API security.
Where are Knostic and Levo.ai headquartered?
Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States. Levo.ai is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
When were Knostic and Levo.ai founded?
Knostic was founded in 2023.
Who owns Knostic and Levo.ai?
Knostic is privately held.
Who are Knostic and Levo.ai 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. Its named customers span North America and India and include large enterprises, fintechs and institutions.
What have Knostic and Levo.ai 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

Levo.ai full record

  1. [1]Levo.ai Launches Unified AI Security Platform to Secure AI from Shift Left to RuntimeLevo.ai via Business Wire · businesswire.com · published October 15, 2025 · Tier A
  2. [2]levo.aiLevo.ai · levo.ai · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Privacy policyLevo.ai · levo.ai · undated page, accessed September 27, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Levo.ai | Trusted API Security & AI Security PlatformLevo.ai · undated page, accessed October 28, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]About Levo.ai | From Trusted API Security Leader to AI Security PioneerLevo.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]AI Firewall to secure custom AI end to end | LevoLevo.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Runtime AI Visibility | Levo Security PlatformLevo.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Automated MCP Discovery for MCP Security | LevoLevo.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]MCP Security Testing for Safe MCP Server Adoption | LevoLevo.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Continuous API Compliance for GRC and Privacy Leaders: HIPAA, PCI, GDPR evidence automationLevo.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]Levo.ai Pricing | Flexible Plans for Trusted API Security and AI SecurityLevo.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]Runtime AI Security for Fintech | Levo.aiLevo.ai · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A

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