Skyfire raises $9.5m to build AI payment network

Skyfire, a payments platform founded by former Ripple developers, has raised $9.5 million in a seed funding round led by Coinbase Ventures and a16z’s Crypto Startup Accelerator.

According to the company’s statement, the company is focusing on creating a payment infrastructure designed for artificial intelligence agents, which are software systems that can make decisions and execute transactions autonomously.

Skyfire’s payment network allows AI agents to process transactions without human intervention, using USDC (USDC) or traditional banking systems. This innovation addresses the growing AI agent economy, where agents are used in a variety of industries such as financial services and online retail.

Skyfire enables fully autonomous payments by providing agents with secure wallet access and verifiable identities.

Skyfire now integrates with Base, the Ethereum (ETH) layer 2 blockchain incubated at Coinbase, enabling low-cost payment rails for all Agent payments. This integration coincides with funding from the a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator as well as investment in Skyfire by Coinbase Ventures.

This brings Skyfire’s total funding to $9.5 million.

What are artificial intelligence agents?

For those unfamiliar with AI agents, these systems function like digital workers who perform tasks, make decisions, and in this case, pay for services. Skyfire serves as an infrastructure that allows these agents to complete transactions by eliminating the need for human supervision.

This setup allows for seamless transactions at a fraction of the cost, making it attractive to corporate customers.