What Cequence Security does

Cequence Security is a private, venture-backed cybersecurity vendor headquartered in Santa Clara, California, that provides unified application, API, and AI protection to Global 2000 and Fortune 500 enterprises. The company operates a behavioral intelligence platform that analyzes over 10 billion daily application interactions and 4 billion protected user accounts across web, mobile, API, and AI channels to detect and mitigate automated attacks, fraud, and business logic abuse without relying on CAPTCHAs. Its product portfolio spans four core modules: API Security (discovery, inventory, testing, and OWASP API Top 10 protection), Bot Management (ML-based behavioral fingerprinting), WAAP (combining WAF, API security, bot management, and DDoS protection), and the AI Gateway, which secures agentic AI workflows through Agent Personas, MCP protocol support for 140+ enterprise applications, and OAuth 2.1-based identity infrastructure.

The platform is differentiated by its Intent Graph behavioral fingerprinting framework, proprietary threat intelligence from the CQ Prime research team, and a category the company has termed Unified API Protection (UAP). Cequence is the only API security vendor contributing to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report for four consecutive years and is positioned in both Gartner Hype Cycles for API Threat Protection and Bot Management. The company has raised approximately $101.5 million in disclosed venture funding, including a $60 million Series C led by Menlo Ventures in December 2021 and strategic investments from Hewlett Packard Pathfinder and Prosperity7 Ventures in April 2023. It reported 652% revenue growth between 2021 and 2024, earning the #128 ranking on the 2025 Deloitte Technology Fast 500.

Cequence operates an enterprise-focused, sales-led go-to-market with 74% of net-new revenue generated through channel partners, including GuidePoint, Aplidigital, and IT-Harmony across the Americas, EMEA, APAC, and the Middle East. Pricing is quote-based annual subscription SaaS, with deployment options spanning SaaS, on-premises, and hybrid configurations. The customer base spans financial services, retail and e-commerce, telecommunications, healthcare, and the public sector, with named customers including T-Mobile, Estée Lauder, Garmin, Ulta Beauty, Poshmark, and Snap Finance. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Ameya Talwalkar (formerly Director of Engineering at Symantec), with CTO and co-founder Shreyans Mehta.

Name

Cequence Security

Legal name

Cequence Security, Inc.

Website

https://cequence.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cequence Security is a private cybersecurity vendor providing unified application, API, and AI protection to Fortune 500 and Global 2000 enterprises through a behavioral intelligence platform covering bot management, API security, WAAP, and agentic AI governance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Application and API Security

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Credential Stuffing & Password Attack Protection (HDADALAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Mobile Application Security (App Shielding, Anti-Tamper) (HDADACAL)

Keywords

• API security platform
• Bot management
• Agentic AI security
• Web application protection
• Unified API protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Clara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. SaaS/Subscription Licensing: Platform delivered as SaaS with subscription-based pricing. Supports SaaS, on-premises, and hybrid deployments.
2. Enterprise Licensing: Enterprise-grade deployment options with SLA guarantees for large organizations requiring dedicated infrastructure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Cequence Security provides a Unified Application Protection platform that combines API security, bot management, web application and API protection (WAAP), and an AI Gateway for securing autonomous AI agents. The platform uses behavioral intelligence and ML-based analysis to protect web, mobile, API, and AI channels from attacks, business logic abuse, fraud, and emerging agentic AI threats, processing over 10 billion daily application interactions for Fortune 500 and Global 2000 customers.

Product overview

Cequence Security offers a unified platform architecture combining four core product modules: AI Gateway for securing autonomous AI agents, Bot Management for automated threat defense, API Security for discovery and protection, and WAAP (Web Application and API Protection) integrating WAF and DDoS capabilities. The Cequence Platform provides behavioral intelligence analyzing over 10 billion daily interactions, with AI Gateway serving as the strategic expansion into agentic AI security, supporting 140+ enterprise applications through MCP protocol while the other modules protect the existing application and API attack surface. The platform follows a modular architecture enabling organizations to deploy products individually or as an integrated suite.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AI Gateway: Security, governance, and control platform for the agentic enterprise, providing the missing agentic security layer connecting and protecting applications and AI workflows.
• Cequence Platform
• Bot Management
• API Security
• WAAP
• Agent Personas

Products and services

• Cequence Platform Unified application, API, and AI protection platform providing behavioral intelligence that secures web, mobile, API, and AI channels against attacks, business logic abuse, and fraud. Analyzes over 10 billion daily application interactions across customer environments.
• AI Gateway Security, governance, and control layer for agentic AI workflows providing least-privilege access control through Agent Personas, MCP support for 140+ enterprise applications, OAuth 2.1 authentication, real-time monitoring, and behavioral identity verification for autonomous AI agents.
• Bot Management Network-based bot detection, mitigation, and fraud prevention protecting web, mobile, and API applications from automated attacks including account takeover, content scraping, grinch bots, and business logic abuse using behavioral fingerprinting and ML-based analysis.
• API Security API discovery, inventory, risk classification, security testing, and sensitive data exposure prevention providing continuous real-time visibility into internal, external, and third-party API endpoints with automatic spec generation and OWASP API Security Top 10 protection.
• Web Application and API Protection (WAAP) Integrated protection combining Bot Management, API Security, WAF, and DDoS protection in a single SaaS deployment, defending against OWASP Web Top 10, SQL injection, and volumetric attacks.
• Managed Services Managed security services powered by the CQ Prime threat research team, providing organizations with understaffed security teams access to expert monitoring, threat intelligence, and incident response for application, API, and AI security.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.3% fewer CAPTCHA challenges for customers
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability8 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• GuidePointminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 June 2026New channel partner added to expand partner network globally across EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
• AplidigitalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 June 2026New channel partner added to expand partner network globally across EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
• IT-HarmonyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 12 June 2026New channel partner added to expand partner network globally across EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
• TM ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2026Cequence appointed as co-chair of TM Forum's AI-Native Blueprints initiative, focusing on secure agentic interaction security in the telecom sector. Contributes threat intelligence and operational frameworks.
• Astrix SecuritycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 December 2025Co-developed AI agent security guidance with CIS and Cequence. Partnership focused on addressing risks from autonomous operations, tool connectivity, and data handling in AI environments.
• Center for Internet Security (CIS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 December 2025Strategic partnership to develop cybersecurity guidance for AI environments. CIS, Astrix Security, and Cequence are collaborating to produce CIS Controls guides to secure AI agent environments and MCP environments, published April 2026.
• Technology Integrations PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology integrations with major cloud providers and security platforms. Part of Cequence's unified platform approach for seamless integration into existing enterprise infrastructure.
• Cloud Provider PartnerscoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnerships with major cloud providers enabling flexible deployment options including SaaS, on-premises, and hybrid configurations.
• AWScoreTechnology or IntegrationJoint webinar and integration partnership for securing agentic AI with AWS. Cequence AI Gateway works with AWS infrastructure for secure AI agent deployment.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cloudflare: Cloudflare offers Bot Management, API Shield, and WAAP as part of its network-edge security platform, directly overlapping Cequence's Unified API Protection suite across bot mitigation, API security, and WAF. Like Cequence, it leverages network-level telemetry for threat detection rather than in-app instrumentation.
• Akamai: Akamai operates App & API Protector, Bot Manager, and Kona DDoS protection, and acquired Noname Security to deepen its API security position. Akamai competes directly with Cequence across enterprise bot management and API security, with comparable Fortune 500 customers in financial services and retail.
• Imperva (Thales): Imperva provides API Security, Bot Management, and Web Application Firewall as part of its data and application security portfolio (now under Thales). Its product set mirrors Cequence's bot + API + WAAP stack, making it a close head-to-head for the same enterprise buyers.
• F5: F5's NGINX App Protect, Distributed Cloud WAAP, and API Security offerings directly compete with Cequence's WAAP and API security modules. Both vendors target large enterprise app teams and emphasize API discovery, runtime protection, and bot defense.
• Salt Security: Salt Security is a specialist API security vendor whose API Protection Platform competes head-on with Cequence's API Security module. It targets the same enterprise API threat detection and posture management use cases, including BOLA and sensitive data exposure.
• DataDome: DataDome focuses specifically on bot management and online fraud, overlapping directly with Cequence's Bot Management product. It serves comparable retail and e-commerce customers with credential stuffing, scraping, and account takeover protection.
• Traceable AI: Traceable AI provides API security and observability for distributed, AI-augmented applications, mirroring Cequence's API Security plus emerging AI Gateway positioning. It is a direct competitor in enterprise API threat detection and increasingly in agentic AI security.
• Wallarm: Wallarm delivers API security, WAAP, and bot management through a unified platform, similar in architecture to Cequence's UAP. Both target API-heavy enterprises with a combined discovery, testing, and runtime protection approach.
• HUMAN Security: HUMAN Security (formed via the PerimeterX and White Ops merger) is a leader in bot management and account takeover prevention, competing directly with Cequence Bot Management for retail, financial services, and digital media enterprise customers.
• Reblaze: Reblaze offers a cloud-native WAAP combining bot management, API security, and WAF, directly comparable to Cequence's WAAP module. It is frequently positioned as an alternative in mid-market and enterprise web and API protection deals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cequenceai
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCykynGTZNiujRQmaJK4R_XQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cequence-security
• Facebookfacebook.com/Cequence-Security-101960084581191

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors16 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cequence Security