CISO Tribune

Vendor comparison · 2 companies

Neo vs Socket

Neo sells security for AI and agentic software across every endpoint, SaaS app, and cloud service. Socket offers a developer-first platform that blocks malicious packages before they reach the code of its users. CISO Tribune files both under Software supply chain 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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Up to four companies side by side.

  • Neo
  • Socket
Neo vs Socket: Products, Customers and Funding Compared
NeoNeo sells security for AI and agentic software across every endpoint, SaaS app, and cloud service.neo.aiSocketSocket offers a developer-first platform that blocks malicious packages before they reach the code of its users.socket.dev
What it sells
  • Neo Node[3][5][6]Enforces policy on the laptop, on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Decides each agent action with allow, ask, or block.
  • Neo Console[6]Starts from a customer's organization and its teams, taken from the identity provider.
  • Neoverse[1][3][5][6]The intelligence layer for AI apps and tools.
  • Socket Firewall[1][3]Blocks malicious packages at install.
  • Socket for GitHub[1][3]Catches risky dependency additions and malicious updates in pull requests before they merge.
  • Dependency Search[1][3]Shows security insights for open source packages across every major registry.
Categories
Headquarters
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Founded
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Ownership and funding
Privately held[3]Not stated on its pages
Named customers
Not stated on its pagesNot stated on its pages
Recent news
  • July 20, 2026Neo emerged from stealth with $100 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Craft Ventures and Merlin Ventures.[7]
  • May 20, 2026Socket announced a $60 million Series C funding round at a $1 billion valuation, led by Thrive Capital.[7]
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 organisations that need to know which AI agents run on their fleet and what each one can reach. Neo describes examples from a healthcare SaaS company and a fintech. Neo Node deploys through an MDM that the customer already runs. Neo Console takes the organization and its teams from the customer's identity provider. Neo enforces policy on laptops running macOS, Windows, and Linux, and extends the same policy to SaaS apps and cloud deployments.Socket says it serves industries including technology, media, healthcare and finance. Socket describes its platform as developer-first. Socket describes one of its plans as meant for building solo or in a small team.
Last verified
November 9, 2026November 5, 2026

Where they overlap

  • Neo and Socket are both filed under Software supply chain security.

Where they differ, field by field

  • Neo's primary category is AI model and agent security; Socket's is Software supply chain security.
  • Neo is also filed under Workforce AI usage security and AI governance. Socket is also filed under Software composition analysis.
  • Neo lists Neo Node, Neo Console and Neoverse. Socket lists Socket Firewall, Socket for GitHub and Dependency Search.
  • Neo is privately held.

What it sells: Neo

What Neo Node does[3][5][6]
Neo Node deploys through the MDM a customer already runs, with no kernel module and no reboot. Neo Node reads the whole session rather than only the command. Inside Claude Code, Neo Node reads the model, MCP servers, skills and plugins that Claude Code loads.
What Neoverse does[1][3][5][6]
Neoverse checks every extension, package, skill, and MCP server before it runs. Neoverse rates an unsigned server loaded by an agent as Unsafe on first sight.

What it sells: Socket

What Socket for GitHub does[1][3]
Socket for GitHub catches risky dependency additions and malicious updates in pull requests before they merge. A GitHub account is connected so that Socket can access and scan the repositories, and customers choose the repositories that Socket protects automatically. Socket can run on a CI/CD pipeline and creates a report for review. Socket creates a project health report for a project.
What Dependency Search does[1][3]
Dependency Search shows security insights for millions of open source packages across every major registry. Socket lets a user look up supply chain risks for a given version of a package in the ecosystem registry.

Questions about Neo and Socket

What do Neo and Socket sell?
Neo sells Neo Node, Neo Console and Neoverse. Socket sells Socket Firewall, Socket for GitHub and Dependency Search.
Are Neo and Socket in the same category?
They share Software supply chain security. Neo's primary category is AI model and agent security and Socket's is Software supply chain security.
Who owns Neo and Socket?
Neo is privately held.
Who are Neo and Socket sold to?
From its own pages, the company sells mainly to organisations that need to know which AI agents run on their fleet and what each one can reach. Socket says it serves industries including technology, media, healthcare and finance.
What have Neo and Socket announced recently?
July 20, 2026: Neo emerged from stealth with $100 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, Craft Ventures and Merlin Ventures. May 20, 2026: Socket announced a $60 million Series C funding round at a $1 billion valuation, led by Thrive Capital.

About Neo

Neo sells security for AI and agentic software across every endpoint, SaaS app, and cloud service. Neo sees every AI agent, app, extension, skill, and MCP server on devices, in browsers, and across SaaS apps and cloud, checks its configuration, and enforces policy before any action runs. Neo maps an organization's teams, people, endpoints, agents, MCP servers, skills, and everything they reach.[2][4][5]

Neo addresses a situation in which few teams can say which agents run on their fleet, what each one can reach, or what it did yesterday. Neo describes agents as acting with the employee's own access, so that most tools see the employee. Neo describes code, keys, and customer data reaching AI through prompts, pastes, uploads, and agent reads, with some tools training on what they receive. Neo describes MCP servers, skills, subagents, plugins, and extensions as arriving faster than anyone can review them, with already approved apps shipping new AI features without a review.[5]

Neo Node enforces policy on the laptop, on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Neo Node deploys through the MDM a customer already runs, with no kernel module and no reboot, and decides each agent action with allow, ask, or block. Neo works as a layer inside the tool, in user land with no kernel component, where Neo sees the agent's actions and decides before they run. Inside Claude Code, Neo Node reads the model, MCP servers, skills and plugins that Claude Code loads. Neo Node reads the whole session rather than only the command. On managed endpoints, the hooks of Neo keep running if switched off and come back if deleted. Neo enforces before the action runs, at the tool call in tools with a Neo connector and at launch for the rest.[5][6]

Neo Console starts from a customer's organization and its teams, taken from the identity provider. Neo Console finds settings that give an agent more reach than its work needs. Neo inventories every AI app, agent, and MCP server on each device, scopes what each can touch, and decides each action before it runs. Neo inventories every AI tool and model on devices, browsers, and SaaS, sanctioned or not, with owner, version, and publisher. Neo checks each tool's setup and version and flags drift from a customer's baseline. Neo decides every prompt, tool call, file access, and network request on the device before it runs.[4][5][6]

Neoverse is the intelligence layer for AI apps and tools, and Neoverse is publicly available. Neoverse checks every extension, package, skill, and MCP server before it runs, and Neo blocks a hijacked or malicious release fleet-wide. Neoverse rates an unsigned server loaded by an agent as Unsafe on first sight. Neoverse rates as Malicious an MCP server that copies session memory to an outside store its listing never names, and Neo blocks it by policy when the agent loads it. Neo inspects data on the device before it reaches an AI tool, stops it or points the person to the approved tool, and flags tools set to train on a customer's data.[5][6]

Neo covers ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Salesforce, and every other AI app that teams sign into, with work and personal accounts kept separate. Amazon Bedrock, Cursor Cloud, GitHub Actions, and n8n sit under the same policy as the laptop. A single killswitch in Neo ends every active AI agent session in the estate, and no new session can start until the switch is lifted. Neo can end every session, running or new, the moment several agents break from normal behavior at once. Neo follows the agent inside each tool on the endpoint and into the SaaS apps and cloud deployments it acts through, with one product and one policy for all AI security and control.[1][4][5][6]

Neo on the record

Sources

Neo full record

  1. [1]Neo launches with 100m to secure ai software across the enterpriseGlobeNewswire · globenewswire.com · published July 20, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]neo.aiNeo · neo.ai · undated page, accessed November 9, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Neo | Secure AI. From Endpoint to EverywhereNeo · undated page, accessed November 11, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]Platform | NeoNeo · undated page, accessed November 11, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Why Neo | AI Control Starts at the EndpointNeo · undated page, accessed November 11, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]How It Works | NeoNeo · undated page, accessed November 11, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Neo Launches With $100M for AI Software SecurityNeo · published July 20, 2026 · Tier A

Socket full record

  1. [1]socket.devSocket · socket.dev · undated page, accessed November 5, 2026 · Tier A
  2. [2]Redefining Supply Chain Security - SocketSocket · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  3. [3]Socket - Block zero-day supply chain attacksSocket · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  4. [4]What is SocketSocket · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  5. [5]Socket for GitHubSocket · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  6. [6]Pricing - SocketSocket · undated page, accessed November 10, 2026 · Tier A
  7. [7]Socket raises $60M Series C at $1B valuation led by Thrive Capital to secure AI-driven software development | SocketSocket · published May 20, 2026 · Tier A

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