By As AI moves from lab experiments to production-critical systems, enterprises are running into a hard truth: AI may be disruptive, but governance, compliance, and connectivity are still non-negotiable. That’s where Tetrate is stepping in—with an evolved vision and a brand-new product built for this AI-native era.
In a recent conversation on TFiR, David Wang, Head of Product at Tetrate, introduced the Tetrate Agent Router Service, a managed platform designed to simplify AI model connectivity while embedding enterprise-grade control.
📹 Going on record for 2026? We're recording the TFiR Prediction Series through mid-February. If you have a bold take on where AI Infrastructure, Cloud Native, or Enterprise IT is heading—we want to hear it. [Reserve your slot
“The overall philosophy is making the easiest thing also the safest,” Wang explained. “The Tetrate Agent Router Service is built around developer experience, but it doubles as a natural point of control for the enterprise.”
From Service Mesh to AI-Ready Infrastructure
Originally known for its service mesh expertise, Tetrate’s DNA in secure connectivity, zero trust, and regulated workloads made AI a natural extension. Many of Tetrate’s financial services customers began asking: If Tetrate secures our microservices, can it also secure our AI workloads?
The answer came in the form of a two-tiered solution:
- Tetrate Agent Router Service (for developers)
- Tetrate Agent Operations Director (for enterprise governance)
Together, they allow fast experimentation with AI models—while still enabling auditability, fallback, load balancing, and prompt testing in production settings.
“At the enterprise level, it’s about balancing the requirement to innovate fast with the risk of moving too fast,” Wang said. “Agent Router Service helps solve that.”
Built on Envoy, Backed by Standards
At its core, Agent Router Service is built on Envoy, the proxy at the heart of many modern cloud-native systems. Tetrate has been a major contributor to Envoy since its inception, and this expertise translates directly into AI use cases.
The company also collaborates with NIST and FINOS, helping define what “safe” means in the context of AI.
“AI is a different beast. We’re working on a sort of Rosetta Stone for safety standards,” said Wang. “And we’re building that definition directly into our products.”
This includes observability hooks, model fallback logic, and extensibility options—so enterprises can adapt controls to fit their own governance models while staying nimble.
Real-World GenAI Use Cases
Wang cited three core use cases where Agent Router Service is seeing traction:
- Coding assistants – Productivity tools that need reliability and transparency across models.
- AI-powered apps – Customer- or employee-facing apps using LLMs that must ensure uptime and ROI.
- Autonomous agents – Swarm-based or internal system agents that require centralized policy and oversight.
With built-in playgrounds, turnkey setup, and production readiness, Tetrate’s new service empowers developers to innovate—without leaving compliance behind.
