The API Platform as an Agentic Buffet: Serving APIs, Events & MCP Servers

Agents are what they eat. Feed them junk, and you get junk. Feed them a rich, balanced diet—APIs, event streams, tools, and MCP servers—and they thrive. This is the agentic diet. But how can enterprises deliver this diverse menu securely, at scale, and on demand?

This session by Alex Drag, Head of Product Marketing at Kong, discovers how a unified API Platform becomes a 5-star agentic-ready buffet: self-serve, governed, and always fresh. Learn how to design and deliver the right experiences to power the next generation of intelligent, automated, and AI-driven systems.

Key Takeways:
• Agents are what they eat…just like us
• Build them a great buffet
• Prioritize the Agent Experience (AX)
• Use what already works…for new things
• Fragmentation is already killing AI initiatives
• Unify, unify, unify

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Conference Details:
Conference: apidays Australia 2025
Theme: Platforms, Products, and People: The Power of APIs in the Age of AI
Date: 29 - 30 October 2025 • MCEC, Melbourne Australia

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Resources from apidays:
Join our upcoming conferences: https://www.apidays.global/
Read the latest API news: https://www.apiscene.io
Explore the API Landscape: https://apilandscape.apiscene.io/

Transcript

1. © Kong Inc. Alex Drag, Head of Product Marketing, Kong Building Agentic Buffets APIDays
2. © Kong Inc. © Kong Inc. 1. My steak habit 2. Whole foods diets 3. 19th century German philosophy 4. AI Agents 5. Plates for machines 6. Buffets 7. AI connectivity The world’s most cohesive agenda?
3. © Kong Inc. Steak.
4. © Kong Inc. ▸ Helps me stay energized ▸ Helps me hit my goals. ▸ Keeps my doctor sorta happy with me Cue the German philosopher Veggies. Grains. Fruit. I have to eat it every once in a while.
5. © Kong Inc. “...man is what he eats” - Ludwig Feuerbach German philosophers. He has a point.
6. © Kong Inc. “Agents….are what they eat.” “Agent = systems that complete tasks by consuming data and services” “No data and services, no successful Agent.” Future Ludwig? Today and tomorrow Ludwig.
7. © Kong Inc. Agents’ diets determine performance!
8. © Kong Inc. API API API API API API API API 8 Agents will need to do a lot of things… API API API API API API API API API API API API API API AGENTS
9. © Kong Inc. 9 And they need to eat… a lot MCP Clients/AI Agents AI (MCP) GATEWAY MCP Server MCP Server MCP Server API API API Events Events Events API GATEWAY Event GATEWAY LLMs LLMs LLMs AI (LLM) GATEWAY API API API API GATEWAY
10. © Kong Inc. ▸ APIs (business logic) ▸ Event streams (real-time signals) ▸ Tools (execution, orchestration) ▸ LLMs, MCP servers (decisioning logic) Agent fuel. Diverse paletes.
11. © Kong Inc. ▸ Are they secure? ▸ Are they reliable? ▸ Are they observable? ▸ Are they discoverable? ▸ Are they monetize-able? Okay, great. My organization has these. But… Breaches–everywhere Downtime–all the time Who the heck is doing what? Poor Agent Experience Money left on the table
12. © Kong Inc. The answer is no Siloed & ghost APIs • APIs spread across Gateways and Catalogs • Many APIs are undocumented and unaccounted for (yikes!) • Security and business continuity lack governance and consistency For most organizations… What about events & real-time data? • How are they made consumable? • Discoverable? • Secure? Reliable? Where’s the Gateway? LLMs & MCP, right?....right? • Multi-model, multi-problem • Houston, we have a token consumption problem… • Data privacy? Compliance?
13. © Kong Inc. API GATEWAY 1 LLM provider ISTIO MESH Data platform LLM provider Event broker LLM provider MCP Gateway LLM provider LLM Gateway API Gateway 2 This is where most organizations have found themselves Slow Disparate visibility No central enforcement Fragmented DevEx
14. © Kong Inc. STARK cost governance issues due to fragmentation And it’s showing up on the balance sheet >6% 84% of companies report more than a 6% hit to gross margin from AI costs. Within that, 58% see a 6–15% reduction and 26% report 16%+ erosion. #1 Cost governance challenge is fragmented visibility
15. © Kong Inc. What if we had an…
16. © Kong Inc. ▸ An entrance ▸ A way to control and monitor guests ▸ A way to charge guests ▸ A diverse menu of services What would this buffet need?
17. © Kong Inc. No matter what kinds of applications you will need to use AI to build. Automation AI coding tools Agents Chat bots AI applications
18. © Kong Inc. APIs MCP Data Micro- services Events LLMs AI fuel Automation AI coding tools Agents Chat bots AI applications And no matter what resources will end up fueling your AI applications.
19. © Kong Inc. Automation AI coding tools Agents Chat bots AI applications APIs MCP Data Micro- services Events LLMs AI fuel Secure & compliant → No breaches and no fines Performant & available → No CX issues and no brand hit Effectively & efficiently → Better DevEx & faster time to market Visible and governed → Lower risk & better AI program margins
20. © Kong Inc. © Kong Inc. Enter AI Connectivity
21. © Kong Inc. Automation AI coding tools Agents Chat bots AI applications Govern AI costs, enforce meters, and monetize AI and AI resource consumption patterns to maximize AI rev gen and minimize AI cost structures. MONETIZE Publish self-serve API, LLM, MCP, and Data products for self-serve Developer, AI coding tool, and Agent discovery and consumption. DISCOVER Centrally expose, secure, and run APIs, LLM access, MCP server access, Eventing, and AI integrations in any environment and in any cloud. RUN Design, test, and debug APIs, MCP servers, event streams, and AI integration patterns. BUILD APIs MCP Data Micro- services Events LLMs AI fuel GOVERN Auto-discover all of your AI-critical APIs and services. Measure API and service compliance. Automate best practices and guardrails.
22. © Kong Inc. 22 Open up access to AI fuel–while governing the entire AI data path MCP Clients/AI Agents AI (MCP) GATEWAY MCP Server MCP Server MCP Server API API API Events Events Events API GATEWAY Event GATEWAY LLMs LLMs LLMs AI (LLM) GATEWAY API API API API GATEWAY
23. © Kong Inc. ▸ Agents are what they eat…just like us ▸ Build them a great buffet ▸ Prioritize the Agent Experience (AX) ▸ Use what already works…for new things ▸ Fragmentation is already killing AI initiatives ▸ Unify, unify, unify Key Takeaways
24. © Kong Inc. Thank you! Interested in learning more? Come chat with us at the Kong booth