Descope

Security for AI

Market readinessHow well the company can compete in its security market, scored across eight dimensions against public evidence. Established: Market readiness of 25 to 30, the typical band where most analyzed companies land.
DefensibilityHow well the company holds its position if competitors catch up on features, scored across seven dimensions against public evidence. Contested: Defensibility of 13 to 14, the typical band, where a moat exists but is under pressure.
Founded 2022
Funding $88M
Last updated 2026-07-10

All analysis was generated autonomously, without human review. Scores are analytical opinions drawn from the cited public sources, without hands-on testing. They are not audits, certifications, investment reports, purchasing advice, or evaluations of quality.

Executive Summary

Descope sells customer-login software to businesses such as Databricks. From that base it also sells identity infrastructure for AI agents and MCP servers, the interfaces that expose tools to agents, issuing each agent credentials limited to approved tools. That credential function is documented, with customer examples such as You.com running its MCP server behind Descope's Agentic Identity Hub. Descope publishes each example as a customer story, so none is independent proof yet. The founding team built and sold the security company Demisto to Palo Alto Networks. That platform and team are a head start rather than a durable lead. Okta and Auth0, which Descope meets in customer login, could add agent credential issuance to suites enterprises already license.

Sourced Details

Description Descope gives developers identity infrastructure for AI agents and MCP servers, adding authentication, access control, credential management, and policy controls through its Agentic Identity Hub. [f1]
Founded 2022 [f2]
HQ Los Altos, California, US [f3]
Funding $88M total [f4]
Latest funding Seed, $53M led by Lightspeed and GGV Capital (February 2023), later extended to $88M total [f2]
Deployment SaaS [f5]
Compliance CSA STAR Level 2, FedRAMP High, ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type 2 [f5]

Products

Product What it does
Descope Identity platform for AI agents and MCP servers that authenticates agents with scoped OAuth tokens, brokers their credentials to external tools, and governs and audits what each agent may do.

Matrix Coverage

AI Defense Matrix

GovernIdentifyProtectDetectRespondRecover
AI-Workload Platforms Inference servers, training platforms, vector DB platforms, and the model-loading supply chain.
AI Orchestration Tools Agentic orchestration tools, plus their plugins, skills, hooks, system prompts, scaffolding, harnesses, configuration settings, and MCP clients on user devices.
AI-Generated Code Code produced by AI tools, AI-assisted reviews, AI-generated infrastructure-as-code and tests, and vibe-coded apps that bypass CI/CD.
AI Gateways & Routers MCP proxies and gateways, LLM routers, outbound AI-service traffic, shadow AI egress, and model-registry traffic.
AI Model Model weights, fine-tuning checkpoints, model cards, registries, AIBOM, and the third-party LLMs your enterprise consumes.
Training Data Datasets used for training, fine-tuning, and continued learning.
Runtime AI Data User prompts, inference inputs, RAG content, vector DB content, persistent agent memory, and interaction history.
AI Agent Identities AI agents as non-human principals, plus credentials, keys, permission scopes, service accounts, and delegation chains across agents and tools.

Descope is an identity platform for AI agents and MCP servers that authenticates agents with scoped OAuth tokens, brokers their credentials to external tools, and governs and audits what each agent may do. It is mapped to the AI Defense Matrix. [f6]

Market Readiness

How well the company can compete in its security market, scored across eight dimensions against public evidence.

Established 26 /40 Established: Market readiness of 25 to 30, the typical band where most analyzed companies land.
Dimension Score
Problem Clarity How precisely the company defines its problem, with evidence the problem exists at the scale claimed. 3/5
Capability Depth How specific the technical capabilities are, with evidence beyond marketing claims such as docs, demos, and third-party validation. 4/5
Market Timing Whether the market is ready for this product, with evidence that buyers are actively seeking solutions. 3/5
Team Credibility Demonstrated domain expertise with public signals such as prior exits, publications, and industry recognition. 4/5
GTM Proof Evidence of actual traction (customers, revenue signals, partnerships) beyond stated intentions. 3/5
Funding Efficiency Whether funding matches go-to-market ambition, with signs of capital-efficient growth. 3/5
Category Clarity Whether the company creates or fits a recognizable category that buyers can quickly place in their stack. 3/5
Incumbent Defensibility How vulnerable the core value proposition is to absorption as a feature by a platform vendor. 3/5

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Business Risks
Problem & Market
Product Capabilities
Competitive Positioning
Go-to-Market & Traction
Team & Credibility
Trust Readiness
Competitors

Strategy Deep Dive

A closer look at the company's product strategy, measuring how defensible it is against market forces and examining the eight areas behind it.

Defensibility

Contested 14 /21 Contested: Defensibility of 13 to 14, the typical band, where a moat exists but is under pressure. reinforce or reposition

Dimension Score
Value Delivery Does the product sell software as the product, or judgment, trust, or accountability with software as the delivery mechanism. 1/3
Switching Cost How expensive leaving is for a customer: data portability, integrations, learned workflows, network effects, regulatory data residency. 2/3
Compliance Moat Whether certifications, liability acceptance, or audit trails block an easy replacement. 2/3
Problem Complexity Whether the product requires ML, optimization, real-time systems, or years of specialized expertise. 3/3
Buyer Profile Whether buyers are SMB operators, mid-market IT teams, or regulated enterprises and governments with procurement gates. 2/3
Layer Whether the product is an end-user application, a platform with application features, or infrastructure other applications depend on. 3/3
Proprietary Data, Content, or IP Whether the product accumulates datasets, content licenses, or IP that a rival cannot recreate from scratch. 1/3

Unlock the Full Analysis

The reasoning for the scores, the strategy deep dive, the business risks, and more. AI access comes with the purchase, so your AI tools can read the full profile too. You keep 12 months of access.

One-time purchase: $20 per profile.

Unlock

Reading several? Unlock the entire catalog.

Strategic Market Segmentation
Product Capabilities & AI Advantages
Sales Engagement & Go-to-Market
Pricing Model
Product Delivery & Operations
Earning Customers' Trust
Platform Strategy & Ecosystem Positioning
Team & Execution Capability

Sources

Company Detail Sources (6)
Id Source Tier Accessed
f1 Descope: Identity provider for AI Agents and MCP Servers official 2026-07-09
f2 TechCrunch on the Descope seed round press 2026-06-13
f3 FinSMEs on the Descope seed round press 2026-06-13
f4 Descope extends and closes seed round with $88M total funding official 2026-06-13
f5 AI Defense Matrix Catalog entry other 2026-06-13
f6 AI Defense Matrix Catalog mapping other 2026-06-23
Profile Analysis Sources (21)
Id Source Tier Accessed
s1 Descope identity provider for AI agents and MCP servers
“Identity provider for your AI agents”
official 2026-06-13
s2 Descope Agentic Identity Hub documentation official 2026-06-13
s3 Introducing the Descope Agentic Identity Control Plane official 2026-06-13
s4 Inbound Apps: Make Your Apps and APIs Agent-Ready
“Inbound Apps: Make Your Apps and APIs Agent-Ready”
official 2026-06-13
s5 Outbound Apps: Connect AI Agents With External Tools
“Outbound Apps: Connect AI Agents With External Tools”
official 2026-06-13
s6 Descope customer stories
“For MCP developers and AI agent builders that are seeking secure identity infrastructure”
official 2026-06-13
s7 Databricks customer story official 2026-06-13
s8 Descope pricing
“Start for free and scale as you go.”
official 2026-06-13
s9 Introducing Descope Agentic Identity Hub 2.0
“Introducing Descope Agentic Identity Hub 2.0 ... January 26, 2026”
official 2026-06-16
s10 Descope AI Launch Week June 2026
“Unveiling Agentic Identity Hub 2.5”
official 2026-06-16
s11 TechCrunch on the Descope seed round
“Descope was founded last April by the members of the core team that built the security operations platform Demisto, which Palo Alto Networks acquired in March 2019.”
press 2026-06-13
s12 FinSMEs on the Descope seed round
“Descope, a Los Altos, CA-based company that provides passwordless authentication technology, raised $53 million in seed funding”
press 2026-06-13
s13 Descope extends and closes seed round with $88M total funding
“Descope Extends and Closes Seed Round With $88M Total Funding, Announces Advisory Board ... said Slavik Markovich, Co-Founder and CEO of Descope”
official 2026-06-13
s14 TechCrunch on Descope competing with Okta-backed Auth0
“there's a wealth of competition in the user authentication space, like ConductorOne, Stytch, Transmit Security and Okta-backed Auth0”
press 2026-06-13
s15 Descope advisory board with GoFundMe, Databricks, and GoodRx leaders
“Arnie Katz, Chief Product and Technology Officer, GoFundMe ... Naveen Zutshi, Chief Information Officer, Databricks ... Nitin Shingate, Chief Technology Officer, GoodRx”
official 2026-06-13
s16 You.com Customer Story | Descope
“Descope's Agentic Identity Hub sits in front as the OAuth-compliant authorization layer, handling the spec-mandated pieces like PKCE, client registration, consent, and token issuance.”
official 2026-06-16
s17 Linktree Customer Story | Descope
“Linktree: Modernizing Customer Auth at Scale”
official 2026-06-13
s18 KuppingerCole Rising Star: Descope (Alejandro Leal)
“Rising Star Descope”
research 2026-06-30
s19 CSA STAR Registry: Descope CAIQ Level 1 self-assessment (v4.0.3)
“CAIQ Self-assessment v4.0.3. Created or renewed ... on September 21, 2025.”
research 2026-06-30
s20 Israel Registrar of Companies: DESCOPE TECHNOLOGIES ISRAEL (2022) LTD, company 516574746, active, incorporated 06/03/2022, Tel Aviv-Yafo
“שם באנגלית: DESCOPE TECHNOLOGIES ISRAEL (2022) LTD, מספר חברה: 516574746, סטטוס חברה: פעילה, תאריך התאגדות: 06/03/2022”
regulatory 2026-06-30
s21 The Hacker News on nOAuth in Microsoft Entra ID, first disclosed by Descope in June 2023 (Ravie Lakshmanan)
“First disclosed by Descope in June 2023, nOAuth refers to a weakness in how SaaS applications implement OpenID Connect (OIDC), which refers to an authentication layer built atop OAuth to verify a user's identity.”
press 2026-06-30
Deep-Dive Sources (14)
Id Source Tier Accessed
s1 Descope identity provider for AI agents and MCP servers
“Every action an agent takes is logged in the Descope Agentic Identity Hub and fully exportable to any SIEM provider. Each agentic identity is associated with a user, tenant, and relevant metadata, giving you a clear chain of accountability from agent action back to the delegating user.”
official 2026-06-18
s2 Inbound Apps: Make Your Apps and APIs Agent-Ready
“Inbound Apps: Make Your Apps and APIs Agent-Ready”
official 2026-06-17
s3 Outbound Apps: Connect AI Agents With External Tools
“Outbound Apps: Connect AI Agents With External Tools”
official 2026-06-17
s4 You.com customer story: User and MCP Auth Under One Roof
“Descope's Agentic Identity Hub sits in front as the OAuth-compliant authorization layer, handling the spec-mandated pieces like PKCE, client registration, consent, and token issuance. On the back end, Descope provisions and stores an API key per user in Descope Connections.”
official 2026-06-17
s5 Descope pricing tiers and MAU model
“You must move to the Pro tier if your app hits any of the limits, more than 7500 MAUs, 10 tenants, or 3 SSO connections. (Free meters include 10,000 M2M exchanges, 2,000 MACs, 2,000 MATKs. Tiers: Free, Pro, Growth from $799/mo, Enterprise.)”
official 2026-07-10
s6 Descope customer stories
“For MCP developers and AI agent builders that are seeking secure identity infrastructure”
official 2026-06-17
s7 Descope security and compliance attestations
“SOC 2 Type 2 certified. ISO 27001 certified. FedRAMP High Authorized. Multi-region data residency. (Displayed badges: SOC 2, ISO 27001, FedRAMP, HIPAA, GDPR, CSA STAR Level 2, PCI DSS.)”
official 2026-07-10
s8 Descope closes seed at $88M total and names advisory board
“Descope has announced the appointment of an advisory board composed of customers, partners, and industry leaders from companies such as GoFundMe, Databricks, GoodRx, and MongoDB. Descope will use the new funding to further R&D investment in agentic identity.”
official 2026-06-17
s9 Descope seed extension investors and Demisto founding team
“Notable Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Dell Technologies Capital, Unusual Ventures, Cerca Partners, and Triventures participating in the round ... Descope was founded in 2022 by a team of serial cybersecurity entrepreneurs that previously founded Demisto.”
official 2026-06-17
s10 TechCrunch on the Descope seed round and competitors
“there's a wealth of competition in the user authentication space, like ConductorOne, Stytch, Transmit Security and Okta-backed Auth0”
press 2026-06-17
s11 TechCrunch on the Descope founders and Demisto exit
“Descope was founded last April by the members of the core team that built the security operations platform Demisto, which Palo Alto Networks acquired in March 2019.”
press 2026-06-17
s12 FinSMEs on the Descope seed funding and HQ
“Descope, a Los Altos, CA-based company that provides passwordless authentication technology, raised $53 million in seed funding”
press 2026-06-17
s13 Descope AI use-case page customer logo wall and testimonials
“Trusted by innovative AI companies like yours (logo wall: Databricks, You.com, 6Sense, Cequence Security, Reco, Token Security, Daylight Security). Trusted by AI scaleups and innovators (named testimonials with case studies: You.com, Cequence Security, Wisdom AI).”
official 2026-06-18
s14 Descope pricing page plan SLAs and support channels
“Community support. 99% SLA. Web and Slack support. 99.99% SLA. Premium support add-on. Dedicated CS engineer. FedRAMP High deployments. (Plan cards: Free carries community support and 99% SLA, Pro and above web and Slack support and 99.99% SLA, Enterprise and Growth list the add-ons.)”
official 2026-07-10

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