Skyfire, a startup founded by former Google and Ripple executives, has brought its payments network that enables AI agents to make autonomous transactions out of beta.
AI agents, which are designed to perform specific tasks, answer questions, and automate processes for users, are becoming increasingly common. However, Skyfire argues that they are limited because they cannot make or receive payments without human oversight.
In response, Skyfire says it has built a full-featured payments infrastructure designed to enable frictionless, autonomous transactions for AI-driven economies. The startup's operating layer delivers critical missing components for AI commerce, including secure wallet access, verifiable agent identity, and an open payment protocol for service requests, purchasing decisions, and instant transactions without human intervention.
Amir Sarhangi, CEO, Skyfire, says: “It’s never been more clear that LLMs and Agents have one major roadblock that Skyfire solves immediately: access. Whether it’s access to websites, paywalls or paid services, the real opportunity is fully unlocked for all of these transformative technologies once you give Agents the ability to pay.
“AI agents are the new consumers of the internet and the key to the AI economy. Traditional payment rails were not built for that economy and struggle with the scale and speed required for AI. Skyfire bridges this gap, providing AI-driven businesses with a financial infrastructure that is global, programmable, and built for scale.”
Sarhangi and co-founder Craig DeWitt worked together at Ripple. Previously, Sarhangi, founded Jibe mobile, which was acquired by Google and served as the backbone of Android Messenger.
Having raised $8.5 million in funding last year and seen strong traction during beta, the company is now getting an official rollout.
“AI has payment and identity requirements that are different from anything we’ve seen before. Skyfire’s infrastructure isn’t an upgrade, it’s an entirely new approach to how Ai agents will access and pay for services,” says DeWitt.