Natural Secures $30 Million to Build Financial Rails for AI Agents

Traditional financial rails, including credit cards and ACH, were engineered for human authorization, creating a structural mismatch for agents operating at computer speed. Natural, founded in 2025 by Kahlil Lalji, Eric Wang, and Walt Leung, functions as an orchestration layer that allows AI to independently hold funds, collect payments, and execute transfers. By automating the backend of these processes, including the complex handling of disputed transactions, the company aims to move beyond simple checkout tools to become a foundational backbone for agentic commerce.

The Series A round, led by Forerunner’s Kirsten Green, brings the company’s total funding to $40 million. This capital injection sets the stage for a direct challenge to industry incumbents like Stripe, which is also pivoting its infrastructure to accommodate autonomous agents. While competitors such as Skyfire Systems are focusing heavily on stablecoins, Natural is pursuing a hybrid approach that integrates both digital assets and traditional banking systems. The startup has already begun recruiting engineering talent from fintech leaders like Ramp and Square to accelerate its development. According to Lalji, the potential market expansion is massive, with the volume of transactions potentially growing by several orders of magnitude once payments occur at machine rather than human velocity.