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Barndoor Acquires Diaphora to Bring Governed AI Automation to Enterprise Workflows
Build repeatable AI workflows as “blueprints” that are governed at every step and automatically
distributed to authorized employees
Designed to bring AI automation to higher-stakes enterprise workflows that still require
significant manual execution
The underlying automation engine will remain openks
NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Barndoor AI, the AI Gateway for enterprises, has acquired Diaphora, the startup behind Frags, the open-source engine for building AI workflows. The combined product will allow enterprises to build Blueprints, repeatable AI workflows that connect tools and data through a defined series of steps that can be governed and distributed across authorized teams. By combining Diaphora’s workflow technology with Barndoor’s governance and access controls, enterprises can build AI automations once and securely scale them across the organization.
The acquisition represents a “spin-in” of Diaphora, which began as an independent project developed by Simone Pezzano, with Jay Parisi collaborating on the technology as it evolved. Barndoor CEO Oren Michels later became an advisor to Diaphora and supported its early development. As the technology matured, Barndoor and Diaphora determined the companies were better positioned together, bringing Diaphora’s technology and team into Barndoor. The full Diaphora team will join Barndoor as part of the acquisition.
Traditional automation has largely focused on predictable, rules-based tasks such as routing records, syncing systems and handling routine requests. AI has the potential to automate more complex work, but enterprises still face three major barriers: reliability, access and distribution. AI-generated outputs can be unpredictable, while allowing AI systems to take action across enterprise tools and data requires strict controls over what they can access and do. Diaphora and Barndoor were built to address opposite sides of this challenge: Diaphora focuses on making AI workflows more predictable, while Barndoor governs the access required to deploy them securely across an enterprise.
From AI pilots to enterprise adoption
Enterprises have rapidly introduced AI tools, but turning experimentation into repeatable workflows remains a challenge. Automations built in Diaphora can become governed MCP tools within Barndoor. Barndoor’s role-based access controls determine who can discover and run each automation without requiring a separate provisioning process. Employees can then access the automations approved for their roles, allowing enterprises to securely distribute AI workflows across teams while maintaining centralized governance.
