ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In a significant development for the autonomous internet landscape, Unicity Labs has successfully secured $3 million in seed funding. This funding round was spearheaded by Blockchange Ventures, a prominent blockchain venture capital firm, with additional backing from Tawasal, a leading communications super app in the Middle East, and Outlier Ventures, a well-known early-stage investor in the Web3 space.
The timing of this funding comes as the market for autonomous AI agents, which are software entities capable of independently discovering services, negotiating terms, and executing transactions, is poised for exponential growth. Market projections indicate that the global agentic AI sector could surpass $100 billion by 2032.
Unicity Labs has developed the Unicity Protocol, a groundbreaking peer-to-peer cryptographic architecture. This protocol allows autonomous AI agents to efficiently discover services, verify counterparties, and complete transactions at machine speed, all without the need for intermediaries or shared ledgers. The innovative team behind Unicity previously developed Guardtime, a cybersecurity infrastructure company, and includes PhD researchers specializing in distributed systems, cryptography, and machine learning.
As AI agents evolve towards greater autonomy, their capacity to continuously discover services, negotiate conditions, and finalize transactions at scale will become crucial. Current infrastructures necessitate a compromise: users must either centralize through major tech companies, which undermines trustlessness, or rely on traditional blockchains that can falter under high transaction volumes. Mike Gault, CEO of Unicity Labs, stated, “Seventeen years after Satoshi”s whitepaper on Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash, we still lack true peer-to-peer electronic cash, as every transaction relies on shared ledgers, leading to bottlenecks. Unicity changes that by building the foundational infrastructure that enables direct, frictionless peer-to-peer transactions at the scale required for the agentic economy.”
Matt Immerso, General Partner at Blockchange Ventures, emphasized the outdated nature of the shared-ledger model, noting that it was created prior to the advent of an AI-driven world. He remarked, “Unicity has not merely patched the existing system; they have created its successor by innovating a model that decouples transactions from validations. This approach allows the network to confirm the uniqueness of an asset without needing to process its entire context, resulting in significant advances in speed, scalability, and cost efficiency essential for a future dominated by autonomous agents.”
Additionally, Tawasal”s CEO, Eric Leandri, pointed out the transformative potential of this infrastructure for commerce. He articulated that in an agentic economy, merchants will no longer market directly to consumers but instead sell to agents that understand user preferences and are ready to transact. Unicity”s system is positioned to revolutionize the economics of commerce.
Dimitrios Chatzianagnostou, CIO of Outlier Ventures, highlighted the architectural shift proposed by Unicity, questioning the necessity of shared ledgers for agent-to-agent commerce. He stated, “What if agents don”t need a shared ledger at all? This innovative approach paves the way for large-scale commerce between agents.”
For those interested in a deeper dive into the technology, the Unicity whitepaper can be accessed here.
Mike Gault, the founder of Unicity Labs, along with Matt Immerso from Blockchange Ventures, are available for interviews to discuss this promising development further.
About Unicity Labs: Unicity Labs is dedicated to constructing the infrastructure necessary for the autonomous agentic internet. The Unicity Protocol replaces traditional shared ledgers with peer-to-peer cryptographic objects, empowering AI agents to autonomously discover, transact, and settle. Established by seasoned professionals in blockchain and cryptography, Unicity is supported by Blockchange Ventures, Outlier Ventures, and Tawasal. The recently formed Unicity Foundation in Switzerland manages protocol development and community governance. More information can be found at unicity.ai, Twitter, and Unicity Sphere.
About Blockchange Ventures: Based in New York, Blockchange Ventures is a venture capital firm focused exclusively on early-stage blockchain companies, protocols, and applications. Since its inception in 2017, the firm has supported exceptional founders developing the infrastructure for a decentralized economy.
About Tawasal: Tawasal SuperApp is a UAE-based secure messaging and digital lifestyle platform catering to over five million users in the Middle East. Launched in 2019, it offers messaging, video conferencing, trading, and lifestyle services while prioritizing data sovereignty and regional infrastructure development.
About Outlier Ventures: Founded in 2014, Outlier Ventures is recognized as the leading early-stage investor in Web3, known for its expertise and support for Web3 founders, investors, and partners. With a portfolio exceeding 370 global investments, Outlier Ventures has facilitated the raising of $1 billion in seed funding.
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