Unicity Labs, a developer focused on creating the autonomous agentic internet, has announced a successful seed funding round, securing $3 million. This financing was spearheaded by Blockchange Ventures, with notable contributions from Tawasal, a prominent communications super app in the Middle East, and Outlier Ventures, a key player in early-stage Web3 investments.
This funding arrives at a critical moment as the landscape for AI agents—software entities capable of autonomously seeking services, negotiating terms, and executing transactions—rapidly evolves from theoretical constructs into viable economic entities. The market for agentic AI is projected to surpass $100 billion by 2032, highlighting the timely relevance of Unicity”s innovations.
The cornerstone of Unicity Labs” vision is the Unicity Protocol, which establishes a peer-to-peer cryptographic framework. This architecture enables autonomous AI agents to independently locate services, authenticate counterparties, and conduct transactions at unprecedented speeds without the need for intermediaries or shared ledgers.
The Unicity team, composed of experts with extensive backgrounds in cybersecurity and blockchain, previously founded Guardtime, a notable cybersecurity infrastructure company. To further its mission, Unicity Labs has launched the Unicity Foundation in Switzerland, which will oversee protocol governance, grant allocations, and the development of open-source initiatives.
As the capabilities of AI agents expand, the requirement for them to continuously discover services and finalize transactions without human oversight becomes paramount. Current infrastructures often force a choice between centralization—which undermines trust—or reliance on traditional blockchains, which can struggle under the weight of high transaction volumes.
Mike Gault, CEO of Unicity Labs, emphasized the limitations of existing systems, stating, “Satoshi”s whitepaper was titled “Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash.” Seventeen years later, we still don”t have true peer-to-peer or electronic cash. Every transaction still routes through shared ledgers, introducing unnecessary bottlenecks.” He asserted that Unicity aims to eliminate these inefficiencies by establishing a robust infrastructure that facilitates direct peer-to-peer interactions among agents, enabling seamless transactions at the scale demanded by the emerging agentic economy.
Matt Immerso, General Partner at Blockchange Ventures, remarked on the significance of Unicity”s approach, noting, “The shared-ledger model that defined the last decade was designed before the AI-driven world we are now entering.” He highlighted that Unicity has innovatively separated transaction validation from the processing of contextual information, thus enhancing speed and scalability.
In addition to its financial backing, Tawasal”s participation as a strategic investor highlights a shift in commerce dynamics. Eric Leandri, CEO of Tawasal, pointed out, “Today, merchants spend enormous amounts acquiring customers—buying ads, competing for attention, hoping for conversions.” He argued that in an agent-driven economy, the focus will shift from marketing to direct sales to AI agents that understand user preferences and are primed for transactions.
Dimitrios Chatzianagnostou, CIO of Outlier Ventures, echoed this sentiment by stating, “The industry has spent a decade optimizing shared ledgers. Unicity asked a different question entirely: what if agents don”t need a shared ledger at all?” This shift in architectural thinking could pave the way for a new era of agent-to-agent commerce.
For further insights, readers can access the Unicity whitepaper.
Mike Gault and Matt Immerso are available for interviews to discuss this groundbreaking initiative.
About Unicity Labs
Unicity Labs is at the forefront of building the infrastructure for the autonomous agentic internet. The Unicity Protocol replaces conventional shared ledgers with peer-to-peer cryptographic objects, empowering AI agents to autonomously discover, transact, and settle. Founded by experts in blockchain and cryptography, Unicity is supported by Blockchange Ventures, Outlier Ventures, and Tawasal. The Unicity Foundation in Switzerland is responsible for overseeing protocol development and community governance.
About Blockchange Ventures
Based in New York, Blockchange Ventures invests exclusively in early-stage blockchain initiatives, having built a strong reputation for backing visionary founders in the decentralized economy.
About Tawasal
Tawasal is a UAE-based secure messaging and digital lifestyle platform that serves over five million users in the Middle East, providing a suite of services focused on data sovereignty and regional infrastructure development.
About Outlier Ventures
Founded in 2014, Outlier Ventures is recognized as a leading investor in early-stage Web3 projects, boasting a portfolio of over 370 global investments and facilitating $1 billion in seed funding.
