what's Catena Labs?

Catena Labs is an AI-native financial infrastructure project aimed at enabling seamless transactions in an economy driven by autonomous AI agents. Founded by Sean Neville, co-founder of Circle, the company develops open-source protocols for AI payments, identity verification, and compliance, integrating stablecoin technology to facilitate fast, low-cost global transfers. This infrastructure bridges traditional finance with AI-driven systems, allowing software agents to handle payments securely without human intervention. The protocol emphasizes built-in identity and regulatory compliance to meet enterprise standards, combining blockchain's speed and reach with robust verification mechanisms. Catena Labs focuses on updating financial rails for AI-to-AI interactions, supporting scenarios where agents autonomously engage in economic activities like trading or service exchanges. By creating a regulated financial institution tailored for AI, Catena Labs seeks to foster trust and scalability in the emerging agent economy, drawing on expertise from blockchain, AI, and fintech leaders.

Catena Labs co-founder publicly backed Circle's Arc chain.