Cequence Security has announced the general availability of Cequence Platform 9.0, an AI-native update that introduces a built-in AI Assistant, an open Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, expanded compliance capabilities and a redesigned API security engine intended to support large enterprise API environments.

The release is designed to change how organizations interact with API security tools as enterprises increasingly adopt agentic AI for customer-facing and internal operations. According to the company, Platform 9.0 was built with an AI-native architecture that allows users to interact with the platform through natural language rather than traditional interfaces. Organizations can also use the platform's built-in AI model or integrate their own AI agents through the open MCP architecture.

"Most vendors looked at the agentic era and added a chatbot. We looked at it and rebuilt the architecture," said Ameya Talwalkar, CEO and co-founder of Cequence. "Cequence Platform 9.0 exposes the entire Cequence platform through an open MCP architecture so any agent can operate it directly, whether through our built-in AI Assistant, or a customer's own agent. That is what AI-native actually means: the UI becomes optional. We are building for the way the agentic enterprise already works, while making sure a human approves every change along the way."

The built-in AI Assistant enables users to ask plain-language questions about their API security environment and receive ranked findings backed by live platform data. The assistant can classify APIs, identify risks, draft rules and create reports through conversational prompts instead of requiring users to navigate menus or understand the platform's interface.

Platform 9.0 also includes an open MCP server that enables compatible AI agents, SOAR platforms and automation workflows to interact with the platform without custom integrations. While read actions can run automatically, any proposed changes require explicit human approval before they are applied. The company said the assistant also provides transparency into its reasoning and identifies when it lacks the tools needed to complete a requested task rather than generating unsupported responses.

"Most security chatbots are only as useful as the person asking the questions, which means they fall flat in the hands of anyone who is not already an expert," said Shreyans Mehta, CTO and co-founder of Cequence. "We built the Platform 9.0 agent differently. It runs a full agentic loop, planning which tools answer the question, calling them, and synthesizing ranked, evidence-backed recommendations while showing you exactly how it got there. When it does not have the tool to do something, it tells you instead of guessing. That governance-first design is not an afterthought. It is the same conviction behind the Cequence AI Gateway, and it is what makes this safe to put in front of any practitioner from the start."

To address compliance requirements, Platform 9.0 includes more than 250 pre-built risk rules mapped to 25 global regulatory and security frameworks including OWASP API Security Top 10, PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST CSF, DORA and NIS2. The platform also provides one-click audit-ready reports based on live data, an observe mode for testing rules before generating findings and a test panel for validating rules against sample request and response data.

Cequence also rebuilt the platform's API security engine to support growing enterprise API environments. According to the company, the updated engine supports up to 50 times more API endpoints while maintaining sub-five-second page load times regardless of endpoint count. The company also said the redesign reduces CPU usage, lowering infrastructure costs, particularly for on-premises deployments.

Cequence Platform 9.0 is available immediately for new customers.