On May 20th, according to Fortune magazine, Catena Labs, newly established by Circle co-founder Sean Neville, completed a $18 million seed round funding, aiming to build an AI-native bank. This round was led by a16z crypto division, with Breyer Capital, Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and football star Tom Brady participating as follow-on investors.
Neville predicts that future financial transactions will be entirely executed by AI agents. Catena Labs has developed open-source protocols that standardize AI payment and digital identity verification processes. The company clearly stated that they are not currently issuing cryptocurrencies or stablecoins, but investors will receive equity with accompanying token warrants. It is worth noting that Neville still serves as a director at Circle. The Catena Labs team currently consists of only 9 people, and their technology will be integrated but not dependent on stablecoin solutions.
