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AI security company Kontext has raised $4
million in funding to expand its runtime security platform for AI agents. The
financing was led by 42CAP, with backing from a16z CSX and HTGF.
Founded by Jens Ernstberger and Michel Osswald, Kontext develops software designed to give organisations greater
visibility and control over the actions performed by AI agents. The founders
have backgrounds in secure computing, applied cryptography and AI systems.
The company is addressing security risks that
emerge as AI agents move beyond chat interfaces and software development into
workplace environments, where they can write code, access files and operate
using company credentials. As businesses give agents greater access and
autonomy, Kontext’s platform is designed to control what those agents are
authorised to do while they are running.
Kontext’s software sits between AI agents and
the tools and systems they interact with. It evaluates agent activity in real
time against security policies and risk signals, taking into account the
agent’s identity, requested action, target resource and assigned task.
An AI agent can be properly authenticated,
use an approved tool, and still take an action no one authorized. As agents
move from generating text to operating software, companies need a control point
at the moment of action. Kontext connects identity with task context and policy
to decide what an agent is allowed to do before it happens,
said Jens
Ernstberger, co-founder of Kontext.
Teams can initially deploy Kontext in an
observe mode to understand how agents behave, identify potentially risky
activity and see how security policies would apply without interrupting their
work. When enforcement is enabled, the platform can block unauthorised actions
before they are executed and retain an auditable record of each decision.
The funding will be used to expand Kontext’s
engineering team, continue developing its runtime enforcement platform and
support customers deploying AI agents with greater control and visibility.