Highlights:

  • The startup uses Web3 technologies like blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and smart contracts to address the limitations of traditional payment systems for autonomous AI agents.
  • Alongside developing payment rails for AI agents, Nevermined is creating a suite of tools for customer billing, subscriptions, and more.

Recently, Swiss AI payments startup Nevermined SÀRL secured USD 4 million funding round.

The funds will drive the advancement of Nevermined’s decentralized infrastructure for AI-to-AI transactions, facilitating automated commerce between AI agents. The funding round was led by Generative Ventures, with participation from Polymorphic Capital, Near Protocol, Halo Capital, Factor Capital, Lyrik Ventures, Arca, and several angel investors.

Nevermined envisions itself as the ‘PayPal for AI,’ offering a decentralized payments infrastructure that enables AI agents to send and receive payments. The platform aims to simplify monetization for AI developers by providing tools to manage payments, track usage, and create credit systems for users.

AI agents are sophisticated systems capable of executing complex, multistep tasks autonomously, without human intervention. Unlike traditional large language models like ChatGPT, which respond solely to human prompts, AI agents represent a significant leap forward. They are among the most prominent trends in the AI industry, with many anticipating they will soon transform enterprise operations, while others believe their development will take more time.

The startup leverages Web3 technologies, including blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and smart contracts, to address the limitations of traditional payment systems, which fail to meet the needs of autonomous AI agents.

Nevermined Chief Technology Officer Aitor Argomaniz explains that traditional payment systems are built for static transactions, like selling t-shirts on eBay, where prices remain largely fixed. Nevermined provides tools to support dynamic pricing models, enabling rates to adjust over time based on user demand and other factors.

“AI agents are dynamic and require an equally dynamic payments system that can respond instantly to new requests. We’ve built the foundation already, and now we want to grow user adoption from both AI builders and AI agents,” Argomaniz explained.

Alongside developing payment rails for AI agents, Nevermined is building a suite of tools for tasks like customer billing and managing subscriptions. Its ultimate goal is to establish a comprehensive financial management platform that covers all aspects of AI payments.

According to Nevermined founder and CEO Don Gossen, this shift is essential as the future of commerce will increasingly focus on AI agents conducting transactions with one another rather than humans trading with humans. He added, “This funding will allow us to accelerate our mission of building the financial rails for the emerging AI economy.”

Holger Mueller, an analyst at Constellation Research Inc., said in an interview that Nevermined recognizes the transformative impact autonomous AI agents will have on the way business is conducted in the modern world.

“They know that AI agent commerce is going to need a different payment model and infrastructure, as well as a legal and regulatory outline. Building that won’t be easy, but it’s good to see Nevermined is having a go at it, and it will be exciting to see what kind of difference it can make in a payment industry that has traditionally always been quite conservative and somewhat resistant to change,” the analyst said.

The startup has already achieved progress by forming partnerships with AI companies like Naptha AI Pty Ltd., which develops AI models based on collaborative intelligence; Peaq Foundation Ltd., which is developing a decentralized AI-driven infrastructure network for the energy sector, and Combinder, a startup specializing in smart electricity grids.

AI-to-AI payments have the potential to become a major industry. The McKinsey Global Institute predicts that AI technologies will contribute USD 13 trillion to the global economy by 2030. By developing a specialized payments infrastructure for AI agents, Nevermined aims to play a pivotal role in unlocking this potential.