Credal —Build AI agents that understand your enterprise. Security, access controls, and compliance built in.

We'll be honest — when we first heard about Credal.ai, we thought "great, another AI startup promising to revolutionize everything." But after digging into what they're actually building, we found ourselves genuinely impressed by their laser focus on solving one of enterprise AI's biggest headaches: security.

Founded in Brooklyn just two years ago, Credal isn't trying to be the next ChatGPT. Instead, they're tackling the unglamorous but critical problem of making AI safe for big companies to actually use.

What Got Our Attention

Here's what makes Credal different: they've built AI agents that actually respect your company's existing permissions. Think about it — most AI tools either lock you out of your own data or give everyone access to everything. Credal's agents inherit the same access controls from your Slack, Google Drive, or Salesforce that your employees already have.

It's such an obvious solution that we're surprised more companies aren't doing it. If Sarah from accounting can't see the legal team's contracts in your file system, why should an AI agent trained on company data be able to access them either?

The Security-First Approach Actually Works

We've seen plenty of startups slap "enterprise-ready" labels on consumer tools, but Credal seems to have built security into their DNA from day one. They're SOC 2 Type II compliant, HIPAA-ready, and tick all the regulatory boxes that make compliance teams happy.

The platform includes human-in-the-loop approvals and detailed audit logs — basically everything you need to explain to your CISO why this AI tool won't accidentally leak customer data to competitors. That's not sexy, but it's exactly what enterprises need.

Who This Really Works For

Credal isn't for everyone, and they know it. If you're a scrappy startup that moves fast and breaks things, you probably don't need their level of governance. But if you're a large enterprise dealing with sensitive data — legal firms, healthcare companies, government agencies — this could be a game-changer.

We're particularly intrigued by their pre-built workflows for things like vendor contract analysis and security questionnaires. These are the kind of tedious, document-heavy tasks that AI should be handling, but most companies avoid automating because of data sensitivity concerns.

At $5.3M in seed funding and fresh out of Y Combinator, Credal is still early-stage. But they're solving a real problem that's only going to get bigger as more enterprises try to adopt AI without breaking their compliance frameworks. Sometimes the most boring problems make for the best businesses.