How much does Operant AI cost?

No published rate card; demo or trial signup offered, with enterprise pricing through sales. Woodpecker red-teaming tool is open source.

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Operant AI

Also known as: Operant, Operant AI, Agent Protector, 3D Runtime Defense, AI Gatekeeper, MCP Gateway, Woodpecker

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Security / SOC agentindependentVerified 2026-07-22

Runtime AI application defense platform protecting every layer of live cloud and AI applications through discovery, detection, and defense, deployed via single-step Helm inside the customer's own Kubernetes cluster with zero instrumentation. Agent Protector (Feb 2026) adds agentic security: prompt-to-tool-to-memory tracing, intent analysis, continuous runtime re-authorization of tool calls, and memory poisoning protection, integrating with LangGraph, CrewAI, n8n, and the ChatGPT Agents SDK. Also ships AI Gatekeeper, MCP Gateway, and open-source Woodpecker red teaming. The only vendor in six Gartner AI security reports.

Operant AI is a runtime AI application defense platform that protects every layer of live cloud and AI applications, from infrastructure to APIs, through a 3D approach combining discovery, detection, and defense. The platform deploys via a single-step Helm installation inside the customer's Kubernetes environment with zero instrumentation, no eBPF, and no agents, delivering full-stack visibility within minutes. Discovery generates live blueprints of AI workloads, models, and APIs, continuously identifying ghost APIs and shadow data flows across providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Cohere, and Bedrock. Detection targets the OWASP LLM Top 10, including prompt injection, model theft, data poisoning, and sensitive data leakage, monitoring ingress and egress flows for PII, PCI, PHI, and API keys. Defense acts inline: auto-redaction and obfuscation of sensitive data, isolation of suspicious containers and models, and intelligent rate limiting. Agent Protector, launched February 2026, extends the platform to agentic AI with complete tracing from prompts to tools to memory stores, continuous analysis of agent intent and behavior, execution telemetry with activity timelines and tool activity graphs, real-time least-permissioned access controls tailored to each agent and identity with continuous runtime re-authorization of tool calls, and agent memory and context poisoning protection through sandboxing. It integrates with LangGraph, CrewAI, n8n, and the ChatGPT Agents SDK via a low-code framework. The portfolio also includes AI Gatekeeper, MCP Gateway, Endpoint Protector for the AI workforce, and Woodpecker, an open-source red-teaming tool used by teams including Cohere. Operant is the only vendor featured across six Gartner AI security reports and runs an Ecosystem Partnership Program embedding its runtime defense into AI inference platforms. Within the AI-agent-security cluster of independents, Operant is the infrastructure-native entrant: it runs inside the customer's own cluster rather than as a cloud-delivered gateway.

Vendor details

Canonical URL

https://www.operant.ai

Funding status

Independent San Francisco company founded 2020 by Vrajesh Bhavsar (CEO, previously built iPhone security foundations at Apple and founded the ML business unit at ARM), Dr. Priyanka Tembey (CTO), and Ashley Roof; $13.5M total funding including a $10M Series A (Sep 2024) co-led by SineWave Ventures and Felicis, with board members Patricia Muoio (SineWave, former NSA/DoD) and Nancy Wang (Felicis, former AWS Data Protection GM); ~43 employees; the only vendor featured across six Gartner AI security reports including the AI TRiSM Market Guide, API Protection Market Guide, and MCP Gateways Innovation Insight

Company status

independent

Use cases & customers

Primary use cases

runtime protection of AI applications and agents from infra to APIsagent discovery, intent analysis, and least-permissioned access control (Agent Protector)MCP ecosystem security via MCP Gatewayinline data loss prevention with auto-redaction of PII, PCI, PHI, and secretsopen-source AI red teaming (Woodpecker)

Target customers

security and platform teams running Kubernetes and cloud-native applicationsenterprises deploying custom AI agents on LangGraph, CrewAI, n8n, and ChatGPT Agents SDKfinancial services redrawing trust boundaries for agentic AIAI infrastructure and inference platforms via the Ecosystem Partnership Program

Deployment options

single-step Helm deployment inside the customer's Kubernetes cluster with zero instrumentationcloud and hybrid environment coverageprivate mode operation with inline auto-redaction of sensitive data

Integrations

Agent Protector integrates with leading agent frameworks including LangGraph, CrewAI, n8n, and the ChatGPT Agents SDK through a low-code security framework with embeddable security primitives. The platform tracks and analyzes all major AI providers and third-party models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Cohere, Bedrock) and secures APIs, Kubernetes clusters, and MCP ecosystems, with MCP Gateway and AI Gatekeeper offered as named products and an Ecosystem Partnership Program embedding runtime defense into inference platforms.

Sources & related URLs

Research sources

https://www.operant.ai/company/about https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/02/05/3233044/0/en/Operant-AI-Launches-Agent-Protector-The-First-Real-Time-Agentic-Security-Solution-Enabling-Safe-AI-Agent-Innovation-at-Scale.html https://www.operant.ai/platform/3d-runtime-defense https://cybermagazine.com/globenewswire/3260450

Capability coverage

9.0 / 14 capabilities · 64%

Integrations & Tool CallingIntegrates with LangGraph, CrewAI, n8n, and the ChatGPT Agents SDK via a low-code framework; tracks all major AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Cohere, Bedrock); secures APIs, Kubernetes, and MCP ecosystems with zero-instrumentation deployment, Operant materials 2026-07-22	Full
Workflow Orchestration3D discovery-detection-defense pipeline runs continuously with automated inline responses (auto-redaction, container isolation, rate limiting), while Agent Protector continuously analyzes agent intent and behavior with runtime re-authorization of every tool call, Operant platform pages and Agent Protector launch 2026-07-22	Full
Knowledge Grounding & RAGGrounds detection on live blueprints of AI workloads, models, and APIs, tool activity graphs showing correlations and dependencies, and discovered agent context and memory usage patterns; not a general knowledge or RAG platform, Operant materials 2026-07-22	Partial
Human Oversight & GuardrailsBuilt-in no-code enforcements and guardrails configured by security teams, with least-permissioned access policies per agent and identity; inline blocking itself runs autonomously, Operant materials 2026-07-22	Partial
Security, Identity & GovernanceSecurity is the product: real-time least-permissioned access controls tailored to each agent and identity with continuous runtime re-authorization, inline DLP for PII, PCI, PHI, and API keys, auto-redaction by default, and identity coverage beyond the firewall, Operant platform and Agent Protector materials 2026-07-22	Full
Observability & AuditabilityComplete tracing from prompts to tools to memory stores, execution telemetry with detailed activity timelines, tool activity graphs, live workload blueprints, and continuous ghost-API and shadow-data-flow discovery, Operant materials 2026-07-22	Full
Memory & State PersistenceTraces agent execution through memory stores, retains execution telemetry with detailed activity timelines, and protects agent memory and context from poisoning via sandboxing, Agent Protector launch materials 2026-07-22	Partial
Deployment & Data ResidencyRuns inside the customer's own environment via single-step Helm deployment into their Kubernetes cluster with zero instrumentation, covering cloud and hybrid environments with private mode operation and inline auto-redaction keeping data private in use, Operant site 2026-07-22	Full
Prebuilt Agents, Templates & PacksProductized modules (3D Runtime Defense, Agent Protector, AI Gatekeeper, MCP Gateway, Endpoint Protector) plus embeddable security primitives and a low-code security framework, Operant materials 2026-07-22	Partial
Triggers & Channel CoverageContinuous real-time discovery and inline runtime enforcement across clusters, clouds, and hybrid environments, with all observability data captured and analyzed in real time for immediate detection and response, Operant platform pages 2026-07-22	Full
Model Flexibility & RoutingNo customer-facing model choice or routing; Operant tracks and secures traffic to third-party models rather than serving or routing them, Operant materials 2026-07-22	Unable to verify
APIs, SDKs & MCP ExtensibilityMCP Gateway as a named product, embeddable security primitives, a low-code framework for agent platforms, partner-program APIs, and the open-source Woodpecker tool, Operant materials 2026-07-22	Partial
Testing, Debugging & OptimizationWoodpecker open-source red-teaming tool enables attack simulation and early vulnerability detection, endorsed by Cohere for testing its North platform; runtime scanning surfaces risks continuously, Operant site testimonials 2026-07-22	Partial
Browser & Computer UseNo browser or computer-use capability documented; Operant operates at the cluster, API, and runtime-traffic layer, Operant materials 2026-07-22	Unable to verify

Pricing

Contact sales

scope of clusters, applications, agents, and MCP ecosystems under runtime protection

Contact onlyMedium variable costTrial available

What is public

The product modules (3D Runtime Defense, Agent Protector, AI Gatekeeper, MCP Gateway, Endpoint Protector), the single-step Helm deployment model, and the open-source Woodpecker red-teaming tool are public; no plans, tiers, or dollar amounts are disclosed.

Variable cost rationale

Cost scales with the footprint under protection: Kubernetes clusters, cloud applications, APIs, agents, and MCP ecosystems secured, growing as an organization's cloud-native and agentic deployments expand.

Sales call required

Yes — required for paid access

Free / trial

Trial available on request; Woodpecker open source

Verified 2026-07-22

Data confidence: high