Skyfire Empowers AI Agents to Make Smart Spending Decisions for You

The excitement surrounding AI agents is palpable, yet a significant barrier remains: payment processing. While today's AI agents can independently plan your vacation, they still require a human to enter credit card details. Skyfire Systems aims to revolutionize this process.

Skyfire has developed a specialized payment network designed exclusively for AI agents, enabling them to conduct autonomous transactions. Understandably, the notion of an AI agent connected to your bank account can be daunting. However, Skyfire implements various safeguards to curb overspending, alleviating some of those concerns.

Each AI agent is assigned a digital wallet with a unique identifier, allowing businesses to deposit a specific amount for the agent's use. This setup prevents unauthorized access to bank accounts. Moreover, customers can set spending limits for individual transactions and over time. If an AI agent attempts to exceed these limits, a human will be notified for review. Skyfire also provides an intuitive dashboard that tracks spending, giving users full visibility into how their agents are allocating resources.

Amir Sarhangi, Skyfire’s co-founder and CEO, previously sold his startup Jibe to Google. His work helped develop the RCS messaging protocol, which became the standard for Android’s billion users. Now, he is focused on creating a payments protocol tailored for the AI era.

“AI agents are limited without the ability to make payments; otherwise, they’re just sophisticated search tools,” said Craig DeWitt, co-founder and chief product officer, in an interview. "We either enable agents to perform meaningful tasks, or we render them ineffective."

On Wednesday, Skyfire announced the official launch of its payment network, along with $8.5 million in seed funding secured from Neuberger Berman, Inception Capital, Arrington Capital, and other investors.

Skyfire does not develop AI agents itself; however, many companies are working to ensure that these agents behave responsibly and avoid mishaps, like ordering thousands of printers when ink runs out. While Skyfire’s safeguards are essential, the responsibility for aligning AI agents with organizational goals ultimately falls to the companies that create them.

The company’s focus remains steadfast on building a robust payment network enabled by blockchain technology. The founders previously held executive roles at Ripple, where they contributed to a cross-border payments network that processed over $50 billion.

Businesses can deposit and withdraw U.S. dollars through Skyfire, which covertly converts these funds into a digital stablecoin. Using USDC, a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, enables safe transactions managed through the agent's wallet.

Skyfire captures 2% to 3% from each transaction as revenue, with potential verification services emerging as an additional revenue stream in the future. As AI companies navigate the challenges of high operational costs, payments could emerge as a viable path to profitability.

Beta testing has already seen AI agents actively spend company funds via Skyfire.

For example, Denso, a leading auto parts manufacturer, has developed AI agents capable of sourcing materials autonomously. Previously, these systems identified materials but required human intervention for final payments. With Skyfire, Denso's AI agents can now operate independently throughout the purchasing process.

Another early adopter, Payman, utilizes AI to compensate individuals for various tasks, reminiscent of platforms like Fiverr. Thanks to Skyfire, Payman’s AI can autonomously hire and pay contract workers, taking a significant step toward full automation in payments.

Currently, Skyfire primarily targets B2B applications for its payment network, but the vision extends beyond that.

“Our protocol is designed to be open-source, accessible to any company, even competitors,” Sarhangi emphasized in an interview. “We aspire for this to become the standard payment solution in the AI landscape.”

The founders are confident that AI agents will fundamentally transform online purchasing behavior. Presently, making a purchase often involves humans providing an abundance of personal information and completing CAPTCHA tests. Skyfire envisions a future where AI agents serve as secure intermediaries, seamlessly connecting users with vendors without the traditional hurdles.