Natural, a one-year-old startup, has raised $30 million to build a payments infrastructure tailored for AI agents, positioning itself as a direct competitor to Stripe. The funding comes as AI agents increasingly handle complex tasks but struggle with autonomous financial transactions.
TL;DR
- Natural raises $30M in Series A funding to develop payments infrastructure for AI agents.
- The startup aims to enable autonomous payments, collections, and transactions for AI agents, challenging incumbents like Stripe.
- Natural's solution could significantly increase the volume of transactions if AI agents operate at computer speeds.
What happened
Natural, founded in 2025 by Kahlil Lalji, Eric Wang, and Walt Leung, has secured $30 million in Series A funding led by Forerunner Ventures. This brings the company's total funding to $40 million. Lalji, with a background in banking and finance, previously co-founded Ivella, a Y Combinator-backed financial product for couples, which was sold to Earnin in 2023.
The startup is building an agent orchestration layer that allows AI agents to move and store funds autonomously. This includes making payments, collecting funds, and transacting with both humans and other agents. Natural's infrastructure is designed to support traditional bank payments and plans to incorporate stablecoins in the future.
Natural has attracted senior talent from fintech giants like Stripe, Ramp, and Square. The startup has been operating in a beta trial phase but has made critical architectural decisions to compete with established players in the payments industry.
Why it matters
Natural's solution addresses a critical gap in the current financial architecture, which is not designed to support autonomous AI transactions. This could enable AI agents to handle more sophisticated tasks without human intervention, increasing efficiency and reducing costs for businesses.
The startup's ambition to reinvent payment infrastructure, including dispute resolution, positions it as a significant competitor to Stripe and other traditional payment systems. If successful, Natural's technology could become the financial backbone for AI agents, driving growth in the AI and fintech sectors.
However, Natural faces stiff competition from other startups like Skyfire Systems, which is also working on payments infrastructure for AI agents using USD-backed stablecoins. The success of Natural's solution will depend on its ability to outpace established giants and adapt to the evolving needs of the AI market.
Key facts
- Natural raises $30 million in Series A funding, bringing total funding to $40 million.
- The startup is led by Kahlil Lalji, a former co-founder of Ivella and engineer at Earnin.
- Natural's infrastructure supports traditional bank payments and plans to incorporate stablecoins.
- The startup has attracted senior talent from Stripe, Ramp, and Square.
- Natural aims to enable autonomous payments, collections, and transactions for AI agents.
- The startup is competing with incumbents like Stripe and other startups like Skyfire Systems.
- Natural's solution could increase the volume of transactions by two to four orders of magnitude if AI agents operate at computer speeds.
Context
The rise of AI agents capable of performing complex tasks has highlighted the limitations of current financial infrastructure. Traditional payment systems rely on human authorization, which slows down the autonomous operations of AI agents. Natural's solution aims to address this gap by building a financial architecture designed specifically for AI agents.
The payments industry is undergoing significant transformation as AI and fintech converge. Startups like Natural and Skyfire Systems are racing to develop infrastructure that can support the autonomous financial transactions of AI agents. This competition is driving innovation in the payments sector and could lead to the development of new financial products and services.
The success of Natural's solution could have broader implications for the AI and fintech industries. If AI agents can operate autonomously, they could handle a wide range of financial tasks, from paying vendors to managing investments. This could increase efficiency, reduce costs, and drive growth in the AI market.
