# Competitive landscape (2026) — how SQLGuard wins

## Reality filter

| Player | What they sell | Why we do not fight them head-on |
|--------|----------------|----------------------------------|
| **Noma / Nightfall / Lynx** | Enterprise AI/agent security platforms (discovery, posture, DLP, MCP allowlists) | Generic “AI security.” Slow enterprise sales. We are not a TRiSM suite. |
| **DataMCP / managed PG MCP** | Hosted Postgres MCP + table permissions + audit | Competes on *being the MCP*. We sit *in front of any write tool* with a portable PASS. |
| **PayAI `/sql/check` · lint APIs** | Cheap query-safety verdict ($0.02) | Tip/lint ≠ signed authorize. No Ed25519 PASS, no sql_hash bind, no change-control receipt. |
| **Read-only MCP / Atlas** | Block writes entirely | Customers eventually need controlled writes — we unlock that safely. |
| **Terminus / AST firewalls** | Enforce SQL shape | No payable issuance, no portable verify receipt, no x402 commerce. |
| **Apono / FGA / Oso** | Identity / secret / relationship policy | Identity ≠ statement authorize for exact mutating SQL. |

## Wedge we own (kill shot)

**Authorization gateway for AI database actions** — AI Change Control.

```
Agent → SQLGuard Policy Check (ALLOW|DENY|REQUIRE_APPROVAL) → Database
```

Every important write gets: who · what · policy · decision · Ed25519 signature · audit.

| Capability | Noma-class | DataMCP | sql/check lint | **SQLGuard** |
|------------|------------|---------|----------------|--------------|
| Discover / govern agents | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ (not our job) |
| Hosted PG MCP | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ (not our job) |
| Statement-level PASS for exact SQL | ❌ | partial ACL | ❌ | **✅ Ed25519 + sql_hash** |
| Portable verify (`/v1/verify`) | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | **✅** |
| Change-control decide API | allowlists | role scopes | tip | **✅ ALLOW/DENY/REQUIRE_APPROVAL** |
| Agent-payable Exact (x402) | ❌ | ❌ | sometimes tip | **✅ Workday/Session** |
| Sales unlock for AI SaaS | security expense | infra | no | **✅ “prove safety to close”** |

## How we beat them this week

1. **Do not become Noma** — no agent inventory dashboard theater.
2. **Win discovery keywords** Agents search: authorize mutating SQL · MCP postgres write safety · AI database authorization → rank Workday / Gateway.
3. **Embed in write-path MCP** — opt-in authorize gate PRs (crystaldba, dbhub, full-access, …).
4. **Invoice Tier-1 AI apps** — $99 / $499 / $1,999 — sales enabler pitch.
5. **3 paying companies** — only scoreboard that matters (`team/MISSION-3PAY.md`).

Live compare: `/vs` · Gateway: `/gateway` · Decide: `POST /v1/gateway/decide`