Circle co-founder Sean Neville is building banking infrastructure tailored for AI agents. Fresh off Circle’s IPO surge of 450%, Neville secured $18 million from a16z to launch Catena Labs. It’s the first fully regulated financial institution designed specifically for AI-native operations.
Neville sat down with Alex Gove of StrictlyVC to explain what “agent-native finance” means. AI agents will soon control payments and treasury management on their own. This shift demands new financial standards and protocols to keep everything safe and reliable.
Catena Labs aims to set that standard. 
Sean Neville stated:
This week on StrictlyVC Download, Circle co-founder Sean Neville joins Alex Gove of StrictlyVC to discuss building banking infrastructure for AI agents.
Fresh off Circle’s 450% IPO surge, Neville has raised $18 million from a16z to create Catena Labs, the first fully regulated AI-native financial institution.
They explore what “agent-native finance” actually means, how AI agents will soon handle our payments and treasury management, and why the financial world needs new standards and protocols to make this safe and reliable.
Listen to the full conversation here.
