Core Insights - Runlayer, a new AI security startup, has raised $11 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures and Felicis, and has signed contracts with eight unicorn companies since its product launch four months ago [1][3]. Company Overview - The founder of Runlayer, Andrew Berman, is a serial entrepreneur with previous ventures including Nanit and Vowel, the latter of which was sold to Zapier in 2024 [2]. - Runlayer has attracted notable clients, including Gusto, dbt Labs, Instacart, and Opendoor, highlighting its market traction [3]. Product and Technology - Runlayer's product is based on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which allows AI agents to autonomously access, migrate, modify data, and execute business processes without human supervision [5]. - The MCP has gained support from major model manufacturers like OpenAI, Microsoft, AWS, and Google, as well as thousands of tech and enterprise clients across various industries [5]. Security Challenges - Despite the growing interest in AI, the MCP framework has been found to have security vulnerabilities, as evidenced by incidents involving GitHub and Asana where sensitive data was exposed [6]. - The emergence of these security issues has led to a surge in demand for MCP security products, with established companies and startups developing solutions to address these vulnerabilities [6]. Competitive Landscape - The most common MCP security products are gateways that authenticate agents and control their access to applications [7]. - Runlayer aims to differentiate itself in a competitive market by offering an integrated security tool that combines various functionalities, including threat detection and activity monitoring [7][8]. Team and Expertise - Berman's experience as the head of Zapier's AI department and his collaboration with OpenAI and Anthropic on early MCP servers provide Runlayer with a unique advantage in understanding and addressing security risks [8][9]. - The company has also secured the involvement of key advisors and investors, including David Soria Parra, the chief creator of the MCP protocol [4][10].