service-mesh
(3)
Traefik Labs
Traefik Labs builds the cloud-native networking layer that sits between your users and your services. Its flagship open-source Traefik Proxy - downloaded more than 3 billion times - auto-discovers containers and routes traffic without hand-written config, and its commercial Traefik Hub extends that into a unified 'Triple Gate' platform covering API, AI, and MCP traffic. Founded in France in 2016 and now headquartered in San Francisco, the company's stated goal is to make networking boring: reliable enough that developers stop thinking about it.
Kong Inc.
Kong Inc. builds the connectivity fabric for APIs, microservices, and now AI traffic. Its open-source gateway sits in front of billions of requests at companies like Cargill, SkyScanner, GE, and Sky. In 2024 it raised a $175M Series E at a $2B valuation, sharpened its pitch as 'the AI connectivity company,' and shipped an AI Gateway that brokers calls to LLMs the same way Kong has long brokered calls to REST APIs.
Tetrate
Tetrate is the application networking and security company founded by the creators of Istio and Envoy. It sells enterprise-grade service mesh, zero-trust connectivity, and - more recently - an AI gateway and agent router that lets enterprises run, route, govern and pay for traffic across many large language models from a single control plane.