Kong Announces MCP Registry for Managing AI Tools

A New Step in Enterprise AI Management

Kong Inc., a leading company in API and AI connectivity technologies, announced Kong MCP Registry, a new enterprise directory within the Kong Konnect Catalog. This new feature allows companies to register, discover, and manage MCP servers and AI-based tools used by AI agents.

A Centralized Registry System

The Kong MCP Registry works integrated with the Model Context Protocol (MCP) ecosystem while also complying with the broader AI Alliance Interoperability Framework (AAIF) standard. This enables Kong Konnect to function as a centralized registry system for approved internal and external tools used by AI agents.

Since Kong Konnect already serves as a registry for enterprise APIs, the MCP Registry also operates as an extension of Kong's existing API Catalog. This allows organizations to manage MCP servers within their full operational context, including underlying API dependencies, ownership, domain, and inherited policies.

Increased Visibility and Control

By connecting MCP servers directly to the APIs they are built upon, Kong enables businesses to manage agent tools with the same rigor applied to critical application infrastructure. This provides deeper visibility, stronger governance, and tighter control than what standalone registries can offer.

Marco Palladino, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Kong, stated in a related announcement: "By expanding the Konnect Service Catalog with Kong MCP Registry, we are providing businesses with a path to operate MCP securely and scalably for their operations. This ensures agents can safely discover and use approved tools while maintaining enterprise-level governance, visibility, and control."

The Challenge of Moving AI Projects to Production

Although businesses are progressing rapidly with AI agents, many struggle to transition from pilot applications to permanent production systems. According to S&P Global reports, 42% of companies abandon their AI initiatives before moving to production, often because speed reveals hidden friction in cost, governance, and operational complexity.

Kong's AI Connectivity roadmap is designed to unify and manage the complete AI data pipeline. This allows organizations to scale AI with sustainable speed, predictable cost control, and enterprise-level risk management.

What the MCP Registry Offers

The Kong MCP Registry aims to help businesses progress faster in AI while reducing operational risk and increasing reliability and cost efficiency. With this registry, organizations can:

• Accelerate AI initiatives and reduce integration costs through automatic and self-service discovery of MCP servers for developers and agents.
• Reduce shadow AI and support compliance by providing the necessary audit trails and visibility to support regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, and the EU AI Act.
• Control AI deployment costs and increase reliability by providing centralized visibility into tool usage, system health, and errors.

The Kong MCP Registry is planned to be released in a technical preview phase as part of Kong Konnect within this month. This development highlights the growing need for companies to centrally manage their AI infrastructure. Similarly, the search for alternatives by companies like OpenAI regarding hardware performance and supply chain is noteworthy.