The system offered by Skyfire combines the benefits of AI-powered virtual assistance with autonomous payments on the customer’s behalf.

Blockchain and AI-focused startup Skyfire created a payment network with multiple safeguards for AI agents to make autonomous transactions. The company raised $8.5 million in seed funding from Neuberger Berman, Inception Capital, Arrington Capital, and other investors to launch its ambitious project.

The concept of AI agents has been around for a while. An AI agent is an artificial intelligence (AI) based software entity that performs tasks autonomously or semi-autonomously. AI agents can perceive given data or environment, make decisions, and take actions to achieve specific goals. They are designed to mimic human intelligence by reasoning, learning from experience, and adapting to changes.

Skyfire doesn’t build the AI agents itself. Instead, the startup aims to empower these bots with a dedicated payment system which will enable them to make financial decisions on the user’s behalf without overspending risks. With this function, autonomous AI agents can not only search around the internet for the requested options but also purchase whatever goods they need to complete assigned missions.

“AI agents can’t do anything if they can’t make payments; it’s just a glorified search. Either we figure out a way where agents are actually able to do things, or they don’t do anything, and therefore, they’re not agents.”

Craig DeWitt, Skyfire co-founder and CPO

The blockchain system created by Skyfire assigns each AI agent a digital wallet with a unique identifier. All the autonomous transactions will be powered by USDC stablecoin. Businesses or individuals can deposit a set amount of funds they want the agent to spend in dedicated wallets. The agent has access only to its specific wallet instead of the client’s bank account. Moreover, the user can set transaction limits both for a single financial operation and for a certain term.

Skyfire also uses additional safeguards to prevent AI agents from overspending. Thus, if an AI agent tries to spend too much, the system will ping a human to review the transaction. A dedicated dashboard shows users exactly how much money and where their agent is spending.

The startup was founded by two former Ripple developers – Amir Sarhangi and Craig DeWitt. It is backed by prominent crypto players like Circle, Ripple and Gemini, and various VC firms.

At launch, Skyfire has already secured a handful of customers, ranging from a traditional auto parts manufacturer in India to AI infrastructure providers. The company is also discussing USDC payments for its AI agents with several major large language models (LLMs). The startup believes?LLMs, which often refer users to third-party sites for purchases involved in tasks, will find autonomous payments particularly attractive.