Skyfire raises $9.5m to build AI payment network

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

The company is focused on building a payment infrastructure designed specifically for AI agents—autonomous software systems capable of making decisions and executing transactions independently, as outlined in a company release.

Skyfire’s network enables AI agents to process transactions without human intervention, utilizing USDC or traditional banking systems. This innovation taps into the rapidly growing AI agent economy, where AI-driven agents are increasingly used across industries like financial services and online retail.

To support fully autonomous payments, Skyfire provides AI agents with secure wallet access and verifiable identities, ensuring safe and reliable transactions.

In addition, Skyfire has integrated with Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network incubated at Coinbase, offering low-cost payment rails for all agent-related transactions. This integration aligns with the investment from Coinbase Ventures, further bolstering Skyfire’s growth. The total funding raised now stands at $9.5 million.

What are AI agents?

For those who may not be familiar, AI agents are digital systems designed to act like autonomous employees. These agents can perform tasks, make decisions, and, in the case of Skyfire, handle payments for services—without human oversight.

Skyfire provides the infrastructure that enables these AI agents to execute transactions, streamlining the process and reducing the need for manual intervention. This setup makes transactions faster and cheaper, offering significant cost savings. As a result, it’s an appealing solution for enterprise customers looking to integrate autonomous payment systems into their operations.