Prefactor: MCP Auth, Agent Identity, and the Future of Authentication

Jun 17, 2025

2 mins

Matt (Co-Founder and CEO)

TL;DR:


Prefactor is building the authentication infrastructure for AI-native platforms. We enable secure, scoped, and auditable access for autonomous agents โ€” starting with MCP (Model Context Protocol) support, but pushing beyond it.

MCP is a meaningful step, not the endgame. Our vision is a world where agents hold portable, verifiable identities that move seamlessly across systems โ€” like passports for machines, with the simplicity of an API.

๐Ÿค– The Problem: Authentication Was Built for Humans

Authentication today assumes a human user. MFA, CAPTCHAs, login UIs โ€” everything is built around someone typing, clicking, or proving theyโ€™re real. Thatโ€™s fine for people. But it breaks down fast when the actor isnโ€™t human.

AI agents are becoming first-class citizens in software:

  • They write and send emails

  • They trigger workflows in your SaaS

  • They call your APIs and impersonate users

These agents donโ€™t have fingers. They canโ€™t click โ€œlog in.โ€ They donโ€™t do password resets. But they do need access โ€” secure, scoped, and governed.

This is the core challenge of agent identity. And legacy auth systems donโ€™t solve it.

๐Ÿ”‘ MCP: A Stepping Stone to True Agent Identity

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an emerging spec designed to support non-human access to APIs and systems. It introduces critical primitives:

  • Token-based agent access

  • Delegation from a human or system to an agent

  • Scoped permissions and expiration

  • Stateless validation with auditability

This is a welcome evolution โ€” but itโ€™s not the whole story.

MCP doesnโ€™t solve agent identity as a lifecycle. It doesnโ€™t support:

  • Cross-organization identity for agents

  • Persistent, portable credentials

  • Complex delegation chains or multi-system authority

  • Identity resolution or reputation for agents over time

MCP is a starting point โ€” not the standard that will define the agent-native future.

We believe agent identity should work like a passport for machines โ€” persistent, portable, and programmable.
And it should be as easy to integrate as an API call.

๐Ÿงญ Our Mission: Infrastructure for Agent Identity

At Prefactor, weโ€™re building the auth infrastructure layer for the agent era โ€” starting where it hurts most: MCP authentication and scoped delegated access.

Our mission is to make agent-first authentication:

  • Secure

  • Scalable

  • Developer-friendly

  • Composable with modern CI/CD pipelines

We donโ€™t believe in reinventing identity UIs or shipping black-box SDKs. We believe in infra-as-code that integrates directly into your stack โ€” and gives you control over every permission and delegation an agent is granted.

โš™๏ธ What Weโ€™ve Built

Weโ€™re building a platform that gives teams everything they need to support agent access today โ€” and scale into the future:

  • โœ… MCP-compliant token generation and validation

  • โœ… Agent-scoped identity and delegated authority

  • โœ… Policy-as-code access control

  • โœ… Audit-ready logging for non-human actors

  • โœ… Hosted infrastructure with CI/CD integration

  • โœ… White-glove implementation support tailored to your stack

Whether you're building an AI-native product or fielding RFPs asking for agent login, Prefactor makes it possible to say: "Yes โ€” we support that."

๐Ÿง  Our Long-Term Vision: Agent Identity as a Primitive

Our roadmap doesnโ€™t stop at delegation and token validation.

Weโ€™re working toward a world where:

  • Agents have persistent identity across systems and vendors

  • Delegation is dynamic and traceable

  • Agent access is governed like infra, not like user accounts

  • Cross-platform interoperability is built in from day one

  • And autonomous software can safely authenticate and act in complex environments

This is where agent-native identity infrastructure needs to go โ€” and weโ€™re building it.

๐Ÿš€ Join the Teams Adopting MCP the Right Way

MCP is here. Agent login is becoming a requirement. Donโ€™t duct tape it together with user impersonation or service accounts.

With Prefactor, you can:

  • Support agent authentication in hours, not weeks

  • Handle delegation, scoping, and audit cleanly

  • Future-proof your platform for autonomous software

๐Ÿ‘‰ Want to explore agent identity for your platform?
Sign up for a chat with the Founders today to find out more.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰ Our CEO and Co-founder, Matt, is in San Francisco throughout November. Reach out and say hello!

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰ Our CEO and Co-founder, Matt, is in San Francisco throughout November. Reach out and say hello!

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰ Our CEO and Co-founder, Matt, is in San Francisco throughout November. Reach out and say hello!

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰ Our CEO and Co-founder, Matt, is in San Francisco throughout November. Reach out and say hello!

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿ‘‰