Categories / AI Gateways
2 · First VoyageAI Gateways
The middleware routing/governance layer between applications and the LLM providers they call: multi-provider routing, failover, cost/token metering and prompt-level guardrails
Last updated October 27, 2026
Our read
In May 2026, OpenRouter raised a $113M Series B at a valuation of about $1.3B. It was the first $100M round for AI gateways. Once a team uses more than one AI model, someone has to decide which model gets each request, what happens when a provider goes down and who's watching the token bill. Traditional API gateways weren't built for per-token billing or prompt-level guardrails, so a new layer showed up in 2023. The name settled faster than most, though you'll still hear LLM gateway, LLM proxy and AI control plane. Palo Alto Networks also closed its purchase of Portkey in May 2026, as part of its push to secure AI agents. Kong, WSO2, Microsoft and Cloudflare all sell AI gateways too, so independents are often up against a vendor the customer already pays.
Open question for foundersAI gateways sell the freedom to switch models without rewriting code. If your pitch is that customers can switch easily, what keeps them from switching away from you?
By the numbers
- 2023First company in the category
- 2026First $100M round
The first $100M round came 3 years after the first company.
How they talk about AI
Of the 3 pitching agents with public pricing, 1 still prices per seat.
How we classify
We read each company's homepage headline and subheadline against a fixed word list; the most explicit match wins. Not mentioned: no AI language at all. Implied: automated, intelligent, smart or autopilot, without saying AI. AI: AI, machine learning, LLM or generative. AI agents: agents, agentic, autonomous or digital workers.This reads positioning, not product: a company with a strong AI product counts as "not mentioned" if its homepage doesn't say so. Homepages are re-read every month.
In their own words
- Cloudflare AI Gateway
“An intelligent control plane for your AI applications”
Connect to any model, dynamically route requests, and manage usage, billing, and logs from one unified gateway.
- Helicone
“Build Reliable AI Apps”
The world's fastest-growing AI companies rely on Helicone to route, debug, and analyze their applications.
- Kong
“AI Connectivity for the agentic era”
Secure, manage, speed up, monetize, and cost-control every LLM, MCP, event, and API request.
- LiteLLM (BerriAI)
“The AI Gateway for platform teams”
Put your full AI stack behind one key. See who is driving spend, cap it before it runs, and send each request to the model that should handle it.
- Microsoft
“Microsoft Entra Agent ID”
Manage, govern, and protect agent identities and their access to resources—just as you do for employees—with identity, lifecycle, and access controls, now available in Microsoft Agent 365.
- OpenRouter
“The Unified Interface For Every Model”
Better prices, better uptime, no subscriptions.
- Portkey
“Portkey is now PRISMA AIRS AI Gateway”
Observe, govern, and secure every AI interaction across your enterprise. Now generally available.
- Requesty
“The AI Gateway for Production”
Access 600+ models through one API with routing and failover, spend limits, governance and full observability of every request.
- WSO2
“Trusted AI Governance”
Own your agentic future. Get the fabric to control agents at scale and govern your AI infrastructure.
Stage history
- First Voyagerecorded October 20, 2026
Companies we track
Pioneers
FAQ
What is AI Gateways?
The middleware routing/governance layer between applications and the LLM providers they call: multi-provider routing, failover, cost/token metering and prompt-level guardrails
How mature is the AI Gateways category?
We place it in stage 2, First Voyage. A few pioneers are sailing the same route. The category has a name but no clear leader — education is still your primary job.
How do AI Gateways companies usually price?
There's no single dominant model among the 5 tracked companies with a public pricing model: 2 usage-based, 1 hybrid, 1 per seat, 1 flat rate.
When did the AI Gateways category start?
The first company we count in the category dates to 2023. The first $100M round came in 2026.
How do AI Gateways companies talk about AI?
Of the 9 we track, by the language in their homepage headline and subheadline as of November 1, 2026: AI agents 3, AI 5, Implied 0, Not mentioned 1. Of the 3 pitching AI agents with public pricing, 1 price per seat.
Which AI Gateways companies does First to Market track?
Helicone, Requesty, Kong, Microsoft, WSO2, Cloudflare AI Gateway, OpenRouter, Portkey, LiteLLM (BerriAI).
Building in AI Gateways?
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