Skyfire raises $9.5m to build AI payment network

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

The company focuses on building a payment infrastructure designed for AI agents, which are software systems capable of making decisions and transacting autonomously, according to a company release.

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

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

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

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

What are AI agents? 

For those unfamiliar with AI agents, these systems function like digital employees, performing tasks, making decisions, and, in this case, paying for services. Skyfire acts as the infrastructure that allows these agents to complete transactions, bypassing the need for human oversight.

This setup enables seamless transactions at a fraction of the cost, making it attractive to enterprise customers.