CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Knostic vs Promptfoo

Knostic discovers and secures agents, coding assistants, and their supply chain, from MCP to skills and Code to Cowork. Promptfoo builds open-source tools for secure, reliable AI applications. 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
  • Promptfoo
Knostic vs Promptfoo: 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.aiPromptfooPromptfoo builds open-source tools for secure, reliable AI applications.promptfoo.dev
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.
  • Red Teaming[2][4][5]Simulates real users to uncover application-specific vulnerabilities.
  • Evaluations[2][5]LLM evaluation of prompts and models that can run inside CI workflows.
Categories
Headquarters
Reston, United States[3]San Francisco, United States[1][3]
Founded
2023[2][7]2024[1][12]
Ownership and funding
Privately held[5]Owned by OpenAI[12]
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]
  • March 9, 2026OpenAI agreed to buy Promptfoo, a startup helping businesses find and fix security issues in AI models during development.[13]
  • March 9, 2026OpenAI announced it has acquired Promptfoo, an AI security startup founded in 2024 to protect LLMs from adversarial attacks.[12]
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.Not written yet
Last verified
September 27, 2026November 4, 2026

Where they overlap

  • AI model and agent security is the primary category of both Knostic and Promptfoo.
  • Both are headquartered in the United States.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Knostic is also filed under AI governance. Promptfoo is also filed under AI firewalls and guardrails, Static application security testing and Breach simulation and automated pen-testing.
  • Knostic lists Kirin and AgentMesh. Promptfoo lists Red Teaming and Evaluations.
  • Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States. Promptfoo is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
  • Knostic was founded in 2023. Promptfoo was founded in 2024.
  • Knostic is privately held. Promptfoo is owned by OpenAI.

How they differ

CISO Tribune files both Knostic and Promptfoo under AI model and agent security as the primary category, but the two sell different things within it. Knostic sells Kirin, which runs on the endpoint inside supported agents and denies or blocks unsafe agent actions. It also sells AgentMesh, which rates every skill, server, and extension. Promptfoo sells Red Teaming, which simulates real users to uncover application-specific vulnerabilities, and Evaluations, an LLM evaluation of prompts and models that can run inside CI workflows.

Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States, was founded in 2023, and is privately held. Promptfoo is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, and was founded in 2024. Promptfoo is owned by OpenAI, which announced on March 9, 2026 that it had acquired the company. Promptfoo's Community version is open source and includes up to 10k probes per month at no charge.

Knostic's pages describe a focus on developers and teams that use AI coding agents and IDEs, and Kirin supports Cursor and VS Code among other tools, on macOS and Windows. Promptfoo's evaluations can be integrated into a CircleCI pipeline and with test frameworks like Jest and Vitest. On June 12, 2026, Knostic was recognized in the Cloud Security Alliance's first Agentic AI Security Innovator Market Map.

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: Promptfoo

What Red Teaming does[2][4][5]
Promptfoo creates thousands of context-aware attacks tailored to the customer's application. The open-source Community version includes up to 10k probes per month at no charge.
What Evaluations does[2][5]
Promptfoo's LLM evaluation can be integrated into a CircleCI pipeline. Promptfoo can be integrated with test frameworks like Jest and Vitest to evaluate prompts as part of existing testing and CI workflows. Promptfoo provides real-time alerts and automated evaluations to show LLM security status across all projects.

Questions about Knostic and Promptfoo

What do Knostic and Promptfoo sell?
Knostic sells Kirin and AgentMesh. Promptfoo sells Red Teaming and Evaluations.
Are Knostic and Promptfoo in the same category?
Yes. AI model and agent security is the primary category of both on CISO Tribune.
Where are Knostic and Promptfoo headquartered?
Knostic is headquartered in Reston, United States. Promptfoo is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.
When were Knostic and Promptfoo founded?
Knostic was founded in 2023. Promptfoo was founded in 2024.
Who owns Knostic and Promptfoo?
Knostic is privately held. Promptfoo is owned by OpenAI.
Who are Knostic and Promptfoo 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.
What have Knostic and Promptfoo announced recently?
June 12, 2026: Knostic was recognized in the Cloud Security Alliance's first Agentic AI Security Innovator Market Map. March 9, 2026: OpenAI agreed to buy Promptfoo, a startup helping businesses find and fix security issues in AI models during development.

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

Promptfoo full record

  1. [1]PressPromptfoo · promptfoo.dev · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]promptfoo.devPromptfoo · promptfoo.dev · undated page, accessed November 4, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]About Promptfoo | AI Security Experts | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Build Secure AI Applications | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Pricing | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Setting up Promptfoo with CircleCI | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Testing prompts with Jest and Vitest | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  8. [8]Finding LLM Jailbreaks with Burp Suite | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  9. [9]SharePoint Integration | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  10. [10]Langfuse integration | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  11. [11]AI Security for Real Estate | PromptfooPromptfoo · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  12. [12]OpenAI acquires Promptfoo to secure its AI agents | TechCrunchTechCrunch · published March 9, 2026 · Tier B
  13. [13]OpenAI Buying AI Security Startup Promptfoo to Safeguard AI Agents - BloombergBloomberg · published March 9, 2026 · Tier B

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