diff --git a/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/tools/mcp_tool.py b/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/tools/mcp_tool.py
index ddd65c7a7..7909657e0 100644
--- a/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/tools/mcp_tool.py
+++ b/surfsense_backend/app/agents/new_chat/tools/mcp_tool.py
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ clicking "Always Allow", which adds the tool name to the connector's
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import asyncio
 import logging
 import time
 from collections import defaultdict
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 _MCP_CACHE_TTL_SECONDS = 300  # 5 minutes
 _MCP_CACHE_MAX_SIZE = 50
+_MCP_DISCOVERY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS = 30
 _mcp_tools_cache: dict[int, tuple[float, list[StructuredTool]]] = {}
 
 
@@ -869,7 +871,7 @@ async def load_mcp_tools(
                 multi_account_types,
             )
 
-        tools: list[StructuredTool] = []
+        discovery_tasks: list[dict[str, Any]] = []
         for connector in connectors:
             try:
                 cfg = connector.config or {}
@@ -882,14 +884,10 @@ async def load_mcp_tools(
                     )
                     continue
 
-                # For MCP OAuth connectors: refresh if needed, then decrypt the
-                # access token and inject it into headers at runtime.  The DB
-                # intentionally does NOT store plaintext tokens in server_config.
                 if cfg.get("mcp_oauth"):
                     server_config = await _maybe_refresh_mcp_oauth_token(
                         session, connector, cfg, server_config,
                     )
-                    # Re-read cfg after potential refresh (connector was reloaded from DB).
                     cfg = connector.config or {}
                     server_config = _inject_oauth_headers(cfg, server_config)
                     if server_config is None:
@@ -911,7 +909,6 @@ async def load_mcp_tools(
                 allowed_tools = svc_cfg.allowed_tools if svc_cfg else []
                 readonly_tools = svc_cfg.readonly_tools if svc_cfg else frozenset()
 
-                # Build a prefix only when multiple accounts share the same type.
                 tool_name_prefix: str | None = None
                 if ct in multi_account_types and svc_cfg:
                     service_key = next(
@@ -921,34 +918,66 @@ async def load_mcp_tools(
                     if service_key:
                         tool_name_prefix = f"{service_key}_{connector.id}"
 
-                transport = server_config.get("transport", "stdio")
-
-                if transport in ("streamable-http", "http", "sse"):
-                    connector_tools = await _load_http_mcp_tools(
-                        connector.id,
-                        connector.name,
-                        server_config,
-                        trusted_tools=trusted_tools,
-                        allowed_tools=allowed_tools,
-                        readonly_tools=readonly_tools,
-                        tool_name_prefix=tool_name_prefix,
-                    )
-                else:
-                    connector_tools = await _load_stdio_mcp_tools(
-                        connector.id,
-                        connector.name,
-                        server_config,
-                        trusted_tools=trusted_tools,
-                    )
-
-                tools.extend(connector_tools)
+                discovery_tasks.append({
+                    "connector_id": connector.id,
+                    "connector_name": connector.name,
+                    "server_config": server_config,
+                    "trusted_tools": trusted_tools,
+                    "allowed_tools": allowed_tools,
+                    "readonly_tools": readonly_tools,
+                    "tool_name_prefix": tool_name_prefix,
+                    "transport": server_config.get("transport", "stdio"),
+                })
 
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.exception(
-                    "Failed to load tools from MCP connector %d: %s",
+                    "Failed to prepare MCP connector %d: %s",
                     connector.id, e,
                 )
 
+        async def _discover_one(task: dict[str, Any]) -> list[StructuredTool]:
+            try:
+                if task["transport"] in ("streamable-http", "http", "sse"):
+                    return await asyncio.wait_for(
+                        _load_http_mcp_tools(
+                            task["connector_id"],
+                            task["connector_name"],
+                            task["server_config"],
+                            trusted_tools=task["trusted_tools"],
+                            allowed_tools=task["allowed_tools"],
+                            readonly_tools=task["readonly_tools"],
+                            tool_name_prefix=task["tool_name_prefix"],
+                        ),
+                        timeout=_MCP_DISCOVERY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
+                    )
+                else:
+                    return await asyncio.wait_for(
+                        _load_stdio_mcp_tools(
+                            task["connector_id"],
+                            task["connector_name"],
+                            task["server_config"],
+                            trusted_tools=task["trusted_tools"],
+                        ),
+                        timeout=_MCP_DISCOVERY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
+                    )
+            except asyncio.TimeoutError:
+                logger.error(
+                    "MCP connector %d timed out after %ds during discovery",
+                    task["connector_id"], _MCP_DISCOVERY_TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
+                )
+                return []
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.exception(
+                    "Failed to load tools from MCP connector %d: %s",
+                    task["connector_id"], e,
+                )
+                return []
+
+        results = await asyncio.gather(*[_discover_one(t) for t in discovery_tasks])
+        tools: list[StructuredTool] = [
+            tool for sublist in results for tool in sublist
+        ]
+
         _mcp_tools_cache[search_space_id] = (now, tools)
 
         if len(_mcp_tools_cache) > _MCP_CACHE_MAX_SIZE: