TLDR: Obot AI, an open-source software company based in San Francisco, has successfully raised $35 million in seed funding. The investment, co-led by Mayfield Fund and Nexus Venture Partners, will accelerate the development of its open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) platform, including the Obot MCP Gateway and Nanobot MCP Agent Framework. The company aims to address critical challenges in enterprise AI adoption, such as fragmentation, governance, and security, by providing standardized, secure access for AI agents.
San Francisco, CA – September 26, 2025 – Obot AI, a pioneering open-source software company, today announced it has successfully closed a $35 million seed funding round. This significant investment is set to propel the development and expansion of its open-source AI platforms, designed to streamline and secure enterprise-level artificial intelligence adoption. The funding round was co-led by prominent venture capital firms Mayfield Fund and Nexus Venture Partners.
The capital infusion will be strategically utilized to accelerate the development of Obot AI’s core open-source projects, including the Obot Model Context Protocol (MCP) Gateway and the Nanobot MCP Agent Framework. Additionally, the company plans to significantly expand its engineering and product teams to meet the escalating market demand for robust AI integration solutions.
Obot AI’s mission is to tackle the critical barriers hindering enterprise AI adoption, such as legacy system integration, governance complexities, and the lack of standardization. The company champions the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an emerging open-source standard initially released by AI model developer Anthropic PBC in late 2024. MCP serves as a universal interface, enabling large language models (LLMs) and AI agents to securely and effectively interact with external tools and diverse data sources.
Sheng Liang, CEO of Obot AI, emphasized the transformative potential of this standard. “The MCP standard is reshaping how organizations adopt AI,” Liang stated. “But without a standard platform, companies struggle with fragmentation, governance, and integration challenges. Obot AI is building an Enterprise MCP Platform so every organization can safely adopt, scale, and innovate with AI assistants.”
The recently launched Obot MCP Gateway, introduced in 2025, offers enterprise developers and IT teams a unified, open-source solution for controlling and managing the security of MCP servers and MCP-enabled AI applications. This platform provides centralized governance, secure proxies, and automated documentation and discovery, addressing the fragmented landscape of AI tool deployment. It empowers IT leaders to manage permissions, audit interactions, and ensure compliance, which is crucial for highly regulated sectors like finance and healthcare.
The founding team behind Obot AI boasts a proven track record in building critical open-source infrastructure platforms, having previously established Rancher Labs (acquired by SUSE) and Cloud.com (acquired by Citrix). With Obot AI, they are focused on replicating this success in the realm of AI technologies.
Ursheet Parikh, Partner at Mayfield Fund, highlighted the urgent need for Obot AI’s solution: “Enterprises urgently need a way to unlock the value of AI assistants while ensuring governance, security, and trust. Obot AI’s MCP Platform is the missing piece of enterprise infrastructure, and we’re thrilled to support Sheng and his team as they bring this vision to life.” Jishnu Bhattacharjee, Managing Director at Nexus Venture Partners, added, “We believe Obot AI will become the standard foundation for how enterprises integrate AI tools and agents.”
Also Read:
- Airia Unveils Secure MCP Gateway to Fortify Enterprise AI Deployments
- SolidCore.ai Secures $4 Million Seed Funding to Bridge Enterprise GenAI Trust and Security Gaps
This substantial seed funding round positions Obot AI as a key player in standardizing secure AI agent access, promising to redefine how companies integrate AI, mitigate risks, and enhance productivity in the coming years.
