Ripple Bets On AI Boom With Strategic Investment In AI Agent Infrastructure Startup

San Francisco-based t54 Labs raised $5 million in seed funding on Wednesday, with strategic participation from Ripple, to build identity and risk infrastructure for AI agents. The round was led by Anagram, PL Capital, and Franklin Templeton. The funding supports tools that verify, monitor, and manage autonomous agents executing financial transactions.

Ripple Joins $5M Seed Round for Agent Finance

The company disclosure indicated that the seed round included strategic investment from Ripple, alongside Virtuals Ventures, Blockchain Coinvestors, and ABCDE. Anagram, PL Capital, and Franklin Templeton co-led the raise. Founder Chandler Fang said that no investor took a board or advisory seat.

Fang did not disclose the valuation or timeline of the fundraising process. He confirmed the company completed the round as its first external capital raise. Notably, t54 employs 12 people and plans to hire three more staff, including two engineers.

The company said it will use the funds to expand engineering, accelerate product development, and scale institutional partnerships. That expansion follows increasing activity from AI agents across payments and treasury systems. However, Fang said existing financial rails lack agent-specific verification standards.

Building Verifiable Identity for AI Agents

t54 builds what it calls a trust layer for the agentic economy. According to the company, financial systems were designed around human identity and decision-making. As AI agents begin initiating payments, no standardized framework verifies their identity or risk profile. 

As Coingape reported, OpenAI introduced a smart contract security benchmark that tests how AI systems detect, patch, and exploit serious Ethereum contract bugs.

The platform addresses that gap through four components. First, it offers identity verification under a “know your agent” model. That system covers developer verification, model provenance, human-agent binding, and intent attestation.

Additionally, t54 operates a real-time risk engine. It evaluates transactions using behavioral data, code audits, device context, and operational mandates. The system flags anomalies before funds move.

Third, the company plans to underwrite agent-native credit lines. It will assess verified identity, behavioral signals, and transaction history. Finally, t54 integrates identity, risk, and settlement into a unified operational layer.

A YouGov study found that 42% of U.S. consumers would allow AI agents to purchase on their behalf for lower prices. However, research from Keyfactor reported that 86% of cybersecurity professionals want autonomous systems to carry unique digital identities.

Blockchain Integration Across XRP Ledger and Solana

Blockchain forms part of t54’s infrastructure, though the company does not position itself strictly as a crypto firm. Fang said blockchain serves as a settlement and accountability layer for programmable transactions. The platform remains rail-agnostic and operates across multiple payment systems.

t54 currently runs on Ripple’s XRP Ledger, Solana, and Base. It also developed x402-secure, an open-source trust layer for Coinbase’s x402 agent payment protocol. Last month, t54 announced a collaboration with Evernorth, a Ripple-backed digital asset treasury firm targeting over $1 billion in institutional XRP holdings. 

Markus Infanger, SVP of RippleX, said institutions require identity and risk infrastructure as AI agents enter financial markets. Tony Pecore of Franklin Templeton added that tokenization demands upgraded verification frameworks for autonomous systems.