Natural Takes On Stripe In AI Payments Revolution
A new startup, Natural, has raised $30 million to develop a payment infrastructure tailored for AI agents, challenging the dominance of Stripe and traditional payment systems.
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The financial sector is on the cusp of a revolution, driven by the rapid evolution of AI agents. These agents are increasingly capable of executing complex tasks, such as vendor identification, price comparison, and messaging, but are hindered by the need for human intervention in payment transactions.
The financial sector is on the cusp of a revolution, driven by the rapid evolution of AI agents.
Natural, a startup founded in 2025 by Kahlil Lalji and Eric Wang, aims to bridge this gap by redesigning the payment infrastructure from the ground up. Lalji, a banking and finance expert, has a background in developing financial products, including his previous startup Ivella, which was sold to Earnin in 2023. With Natural, he envisions a system where AI agents can autonomously pay vendors, collect funds, and transact with each other.
The $30 million Series A funding, led by Kirsten Green of Forerunner, will enable Natural to compete with Stripe and other incumbents in the payment infrastructure market. The startup's ambition is to not only support AI agent transactions but also to reinvent the way disputed transactions are handled. This could have significant implications for the future of commerce, enabling seamless and efficient transactions between humans and AI agents.
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The rise of Natural marks a significant shift in the payment infrastructure landscape, as traditional systems struggle to keep pace with the evolving capabilities of AI agents. This development has the potential to transform the way businesses and consumers interact, paving the way for a more efficient and autonomous commerce ecosystem.
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