Catena Labs, founded by Circle alumni, has completed a $18 million seed round, with a16z Crypto leading the investment.

BlockBeats News, May 20th, according to Fortune magazine, Catena Labs, founded by Circle co-founder Sean Neville, has completed an $18 million seed round of financing to build an AI-native bank. This round of financing was led by a16z Crypto, with participation from Breyer Capital, Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and NFL star Tom Brady.

Neville predicts that future financial transactions will be fully executed by AI agents. Catena Labs has developed an open-source protocol to standardize AI payment and digital identity verification processes. The company has made it clear that it is not currently issuing any cryptocurrency or stablecoin, but investors will receive equity with attached token warrants. It is worth noting that Neville still serves on Circle's board. The Catena Labs team currently consists of only 9 people, and their technology will integrate with but not depend on stablecoin solutions.