In the span of three years, the idea that AI agents could carry out complex tasks on behalf of humans has shifted from academic speculation to the focus of a growing startup ecosystem. Chi Zhang, cofounder and CEO of Kite, believes those agents will need infrastructure to function at scale. “From the beginning, we believed autonomous agents would be the dominant UI for the future digital economies. To function, they need structured and verifiable data, that was our first step,” Zhang said.
The idea has drawn attention from investors. Kite just announced an $18 million Series A round led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst, with participation from 8VC, Samsung Next, Alumni Ventures, and others. The new funding brings its total capital raised to $33 million.
Building for AI Agents
Kite, formerly known as Zettablock, describes its platform as a “base layer” for what it calls the agentic internet. The company’s core system, Kite Agent Identity Resolution (AIR), is designed to let autonomous agents authenticate themselves, transact, and operate without human supervision. It provides three key components: cryptographic identity for models and agents, programmable governance over permissions and spending, and native stablecoin payments with near-zero fees.
