San Francisco-based startup Kite, formerly known as Zettablock, announced it has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round co-led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst, bringing its total funding to $33 million. The company is building foundational trust infrastructure for the 'agentic web' and has launched Kite AIR, a suite designed to enable secure, programmable interactions between AI agents and commerce platforms.
Kite AIR: The Core Infrastructure for Agentic Web
Kite AIR provides a suite of components including programmable agent identities, native stablecoin payments, and policy enforcement. Key products include Agent Passport, which assigns unique digital identities and permissions to AI agents, and an Agent App Store, where developers and businesses can discover and deploy agent services. The platform is already live with integrations for merchants on platforms including Shopify and PayPal, allowing agents to authenticate, transact, and access onchain services with millisecond settlement times and low fees.
This infrastructure is critical as AI agents increasingly take over complex tasks such as automated purchasing, supply chain management, and DeFi operations. Kite's solution ensures that each agent has a verifiable identity and can make payments in stablecoins without the friction of traditional banking or API integration delays.
Investor Lineup and Strategic Vision
In addition to the lead investors, the round saw participation from 8VC, Samsung Next, Vertex Ventures, and Animoca Brands. This diverse group spans payments, fintech, enterprise software, and blockchain gaming, positioning Kite to expand across multiple verticals. The company plans further integrations across commerce, finance, and data ecosystems, aiming to embed stablecoin payments and agent identity into mainstream business workflows.
The CEO of Kite stated: 'We are transitioning from the information age of the internet to the action age, where agents will execute complex tasks on behalf of users. Trust is the prerequisite for this shift.' The funding will be used to scale the engineering team, expand merchant partnerships, and enhance the Kite AIR platform's capabilities.
Market Implications
As the adoption of AI agents accelerates in e-commerce, DeFi, and supply chains, the need for trusted interaction and instant settlement becomes urgent. Kite addresses the trust friction and settlement latency inherent in traditional API integrations by coupling stablecoin payments with agent identity. A partner at PayPal Ventures commented: 'Kite is building the trust layer that the next generation of commerce requires.'
With the agentic web poised to redefine how businesses and consumers interact online, Kite's infrastructure could become a foundational layer for autonomous commerce. The startup is already in discussions with major financial institutions and cloud providers to expand its reach.