Intelligent application development startup Clarifai Inc. has launched AI Runners, a new offering designed to provide developers and MLOps engineers with uniquely flexible options for deploying and managing their AI models. AI Runners allows users to connect models running on their local machines or private servers directly to Clarifai’s platform via a publicly accessible application programming interface. The new offering assists in dealing with the rising demands for computing power at a time that agentic AI and protocols such as Model Context Protocol strain computing resources. The idea with AI Runners is to provide a cost-effective and secure solution for managing the escalating demands of modern AI workloads. AI Runners give developers and enterprises flexibility and control by allowing models or MCP tools to run anywhere, on local machines, on-premise servers, or private cloud clusters. The setup ensures sensitive data and custom models remain within the user’s environment while still benefiting from Clarifai’s platform, eliminating vendor lock-in. Developers can use AI Runners to instantly serve their custom models through Clarifai’s scalable and publicly accessible API, making it easy to integrate AI into applications and build advanced, multistep workflows by chaining local models. “AI Runners is a pivotal feature that sets Clarifai apart, as it is currently the only platform offering this capability, providing a crucial competitive advantage,” said Chief Technology Officer Alfredo Ramos.