# ASCEND by OW-KAI Technologies

> ASCEND is an enterprise AI risk management platform for regulated industries — providing real-time governance, runtime enforcement, and regulatory evidence for AI agents and MCP servers.

ASCEND governs what AI agents *do*, not just what they say. It combines 12 security layers — 9 discrete enforcement gates plus rate-limiting, input-validation, and secrets-management controls — with MCP tool governance as a 13th discrete gate. Backend kill-switch decision latency p99 ≈ 17ms (CloudWatch, 30 samples, June 2026); end-to-end agent stop within one poll cycle (default 5s). Human-in-the-loop approvals, CVSS-based risk scoring, and cryptographic audit trails. Architected to SOC 2 controls and to support HIPAA safeguards; PCI-DSS and GDPR aligned; NIST AI RMF aligned. ASCEND is not a HIPAA Business Associate and does not sign BAAs.

## Pages

- [Home](/): Platform overview and value proposition.
- [Why ASCEND](/why-ascend): The case for enforcement-first AI governance.
- [How It Works](/how-it-works): Discover, enforce, prove — the runtime governance flow.
- [Architecture](/architecture): 12 security layers plus MCP tool governance as a 13th discrete gate.
- [Governance](/governance): Policy engine, smart rules, and approval workflows.
- [Compliance](/compliance): SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, NIST AI RMF alignment.
- [Integrations](/integrations): SDK, gateway, framework, SSO, and SIEM paths.
- [Industries](/industries): Financial services, healthcare, government, insurance.
- [Pricing](/pricing): Developer, Business, and Enterprise plans.
- [About](/about): OW-KAI Technologies — a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB).
- [Contact](/contact): Get in touch with the team.

## Insights

- [Insights](/insights): Articles on AI governance, MCP security, and enterprise AI risk.
- [Why AI Agents Need Governance, Not Just Guardrails](/insights/why-ai-agents-need-governance-not-just-guardrails)
- [The CISO Blind Spot: MCP Servers and Shadow IT](/insights/ciso-blind-spot-mcp-servers-shadow-it)
- [What Banks Get Wrong About AI Risk](/insights/what-banks-get-wrong-about-ai-risk)
- [Kill Switches Aren't Enough: Real-Time AI Controls](/insights/kill-switches-arent-enough-real-time-ai-controls)
- [AI Governance 2026: From Compliance to Operational Control](/insights/ai-governance-2026-compliance-to-operational-control)

## Optional

- [Trust Center](/trust): Security posture and certifications.
- [Security](/security): Platform security overview.
- [Privacy Policy](/privacy)
- [Terms of Service](/terms)