What is an AI Gateway?

An AI Gateway is a specialized middleware platform designed to manage interactions between applications and Large Language Model (LLM) providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, addressing the complexities of integrating multiple LLM services. Unlike traditional API gateways that manage general web traffic, AI Gateways are tailored for AI workloads, offering a unified API interface, intelligent request routing, automatic failovers, cost tracking, and built-in observability. They provide unique functionalities such as token-based rate limiting, semantic caching, and prompt injection detection, enabling seamless multi-provider management, enhanced security, and cost efficiency. As AI applications become more complex, AI Gateways are crucial for ensuring reliability, optimizing costs, and maintaining observability, with capabilities that surpass those of conventional API gateways.