Sapiom Secures $15M to Empower AI Agents with Their Own Tech Toolkit!

Individuals without programming experience are realizing they have the ability to create custom applications using “vibe coding” technologies—such as Lovable, which transforms plain-language descriptions into functional code.

While these generative coding tools can effectively assist in prototyping, transitioning them to full-scale production can present challenges, particularly when it comes to integrating the application with external technologies. This includes services that facilitate SMS messaging, email communication, and handle Stripe payment processing, as this reporter recently learned.

Ilan Zerbib, who served as Shopify’s director of engineering for payments for five years, is developing a solution aimed at alleviating these backend infrastructure complexities for non-technical developers.

Last summer, Zerbib founded Sapiom, a San Francisco-based startup focused on creating a financial framework that enables AI agents to securely procure software, APIs, data, and computing resources—essentially establishing a payment system that empowers AI to autonomously acquire the necessary services.

Every time an AI agent connects to an external service like Twilio for SMS, it necessitates authentication and incurs a micro-payment. Sapiom’s ambition is to streamline this process, allowing the AI agent to autonomously determine what to purchase and when, all without human oversight.

“In the future, applications will require payments to utilize various services. Currently, there’s no straightforward mechanism for agents to gain access to these services,” remarked Amit Kumar, a partner at Accel.

Kumar has met with numerous startups in the AI payments sector; however, he believes that Zerbib’s emphasis on creating a financial framework for enterprises—rather than focusing on consumers—is essential for the effective operation of AI agents. Consequently, Accel is spearheading Sapiom’s $15 million seed funding round, with backing from Okta Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Array Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Anthropic, and Coinbase Ventures.

“Every API call constitutes a payment. Each time a text message is sent, it incurs a cost. Similarly, launching a server on AWS represents a payment,” Kumar stated during an interview with TechCrunch.

Although Sapiom is in its early stages, the startup aspires for its infrastructure solution to be adopted by vibe-coding companies and other organizations crafting AI agents that will eventually take on autonomous tasks.

For instance, individuals who have used vibe coding to develop applications with SMS functionalities will no longer need to manually register for Twilio, input credit card information, and insert an API key into their code. Instead, Sapiom manages these processes in the background, and the cost for Twilio’s services will be passed on through platforms like Lovable, Bolt, or other vibe-coding applications.

Currently focused on B2B solutions, Sapiom’s technology could eventually empower personal AI agents to engage in consumer transactions. The vision is for individuals to trust these agents with independent financial decisions, such as hailing an Uber or making purchases on Amazon. While this future is promising, Zerbib emphasizes that AI will not inherently drive increased spending, which is why he is prioritizing the development of financial systems for businesses.