Sean Neville, co-founder of Circle, has announced the establishment of Catena Labs, a venture aimed at creating a regulated financial institution designed specifically for artificial intelligence (AI) agents. The company has successfully raised $18 million in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z Crypto.
Catena Labs envisions a financial ecosystem where AI agents and human collaborators can operate seamlessly. The institution will be managed by AI systems under human supervision, incorporating AI-specific risk management and compliance protocols.
In a statement, Neville emphasized the need for financial systems to evolve alongside AI advancements, stating, “AI agents will soon conduct most economic transactions.” He highlighted that traditional financial infrastructures are ill-equipped to handle the emerging agent economy, describing them as “slow, expensive, full of global friction, inflexible and ill-suited to the new opportunities and risks of AI.”
To address these challenges, Catena Labs is developing an open-source Agent Commerce Kit (ACK), which includes patterns, components, and protocols for verifiable agent identity. This toolkit aims to provide a foundation for AI agents to interact securely and efficiently within the financial system.
Furthermore, the company advocates for the use of stablecoins, such as USDC, as “AI-native money.” These digital assets enable near-instant, low-cost, global transactions, which are essential for the operational efficiency of AI agents.
Catena Labs’ initiative represents a significant step toward integrating AI into the financial sector, aiming to create a system that accommodates the unique needs and capabilities of AI agents while ensuring regulatory compliance and human oversight.
