Kontext is developing a runtime security platform that gives organisations greater visibility and control over AI agents, helping prevent unauthorised actions as agents gain greater access and autonomy.
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.