Hello, fellow tech enthusiasts! Today, we’re diving into the exciting world of AI payments and how a new startup, Lava Payments, is reinventing digital wallets.

Founder Mitchell Jones, inspired by his background from Yale and experience at Goldman and Meta, created Lava Payments after observing how cumbersome payments are for AI agents. His frustration with repeatedly paying for the same models across different platforms led to the development of a smarter, more unified solution.

This new wallet allows merchants to load credits, which users can spend across various services without reauthenticating every time. Imagine a single wallet that works seamlessly across multiple merchants and AI models like GPT and Claude, making transactions feel effortless.

The idea aims to empower autonomous agents to operate smoothly on the internet, removing transaction barriers. For example, users no longer need to pay Google Maps every time—it’s all integrated under one credit system. Lava recently secured $5.8 million in seed funding led by Lerer Hippeau, promising a significant boost for product development and market expansion.

Mitchell Jones envisions Lava as the invisible power behind the AI web, enabling frictionless transactions and broader AI adoption. The company’s goal is to make AI tools accessible and easy to use for everyone, even a young kid from Dayton, Ohio.