Basis Theory Raises $33M for AI Agent Payment Infrastructure as Agentic Commerce Emerges
Basis Theory raised $33 million in Series B funding led by Costanoa Ventures to build payment infrastructure for agentic commerce—where AI agents conduct transactions autonomously on behalf of users and businesses.
The funding addresses a critical infrastructure bottleneck as AI agents evolve from assistants to autonomous buyers. Traditional payment systems lock merchants into rigid platforms and fragment sensitive transaction data across multiple processors, creating compliance headaches and limiting how businesses can leverage payment intelligence for automation and growth.
Enterprise Payment Lock-In Bottleneck
Current payment infrastructure forces merchants into vendor-specific ecosystems that constrain how they manage transaction data. As enterprises adopt multiple payment service providers to reach global customers, they lose control over their payment data—the very information AI agents need to make intelligent purchasing decisions.
“The payments ecosystem is changing rapidly, and merchants no longer want to be locked into rigid platforms,” said Colin Luce, CEO and co-founder of Basis Theory. “We’re giving control back by making payments data as accessible and programmable as any other data type so it can fuel growth, intelligence, and automation across the entire business.”
This fragmentation becomes especially problematic as AI agents require secure, real-time access to payment credentials and transaction history to function as trusted buyers. Legacy payment architectures weren’t designed for autonomous agents that need to initiate transactions without human intervention.
Processor-Agnostic Payment Vault Architecture
Basis Theory’s solution centers on a cloud-native, PCI Level 1-compliant vault that operates independently of any payment processor or orchestration layer. The platform allows enterprises to tokenize and manage sensitive payment data while maintaining complete control over how it’s accessed within their systems or shared with external partners.
The architecture enables businesses to store, share, and utilize sensitive payment data across fragmented provider landscapes without the compliance burden or vendor lock-in that typically comes with legacy systems. By decoupling payment credentials from the point of transaction, merchants can participate in AI-driven commerce at scale while maintaining security and regulatory compliance.
The technical approach positions payment data as programmable infrastructure rather than processor-specific assets, enabling AI agents to access transaction capabilities through standardized APIs rather than navigating multiple vendor-specific integrations.
Enterprise Adoption and Consortium Formation
Major enterprise customers including Pinterest, MoneyGram, and Melio use Basis Theory’s infrastructure to control payment data and unlock agentic payment capabilities. The company has grown to over 40 employees and plans to expand engineering, product, and go-to-market teams.
Beyond individual enterprise adoption, Basis Theory leads the Agentic Commerce Consortium—a network of more than 20 companies collaborating to build standards and infrastructure for agent-led commerce. The consortium defines protocols that allow AI agents to become trusted buyers, establishing technical foundations for autonomous transaction systems.
The consortium approach signals industry recognition that agentic commerce requires coordinated infrastructure development rather than fragmented vendor solutions. Companies are collaborating on standards that enable AI agents to safely initiate and manage transactions across different platforms and payment providers.
Infrastructure Maturation for Autonomous Transactions
The funding reflects broader infrastructure maturation as AI capabilities evolve from assistance to autonomous action. Payment systems represent a critical bottleneck where agents transition from providing information to executing transactions with real financial impact.
“Basis Theory is at the forefront of a dramatic shift as AI reshapes e-commerce as we know it,” said Amy Cheetham, partner at Costanoa Ventures. “By giving merchants secure, real-time control over payment data, Basis Theory enables AI agents to authorize transactions, personalize experiences, and drive autonomous purchasing.”
The infrastructure shift parallels earlier maturation cycles where operational complexity abstraction enabled focus on higher-level business logic. Just as cloud computing abstracted server management, agentic payment infrastructure abstracts compliance and processor integration complexity.
Security concerns around AI agent transactions drive demand for infrastructure-layer solutions rather than application-level workarounds. If fraudsters manipulate AI agents with malicious prompts to change buying behaviors, infrastructure-level controls become essential for containing risk.
Looking Forward: Standardized Agent Commerce
Over the next 6-12 months, expect accelerated development of agentic commerce standards and infrastructure as more enterprises deploy AI agents with transaction capabilities. The consortium model suggests industry consolidation around common protocols rather than fragmented proprietary approaches.
Payment infrastructure represents one of several foundational systems requiring agent-native redesign. As AI agents handle increasing transaction volume, infrastructure providers that solve merchant lock-in and enable secure autonomous payments will capture significant market share from legacy processors.
The Series B funding, bringing Basis Theory’s total capital to approximately $50 million, positions the company to scale as agentic commerce adoption accelerates across enterprise markets.
This infrastructure development connects to broader agent deployment challenges where enterprises require secure, scalable platforms for autonomous operations. Overclock provides complementary orchestration capabilities for enterprises building AI agent workflows that integrate with payment and transaction infrastructure.