Lava Payments, founded by Mitchell Jones, has emerged from stealth with a $5.8 million seed round led by Lerer Hippeau, joined by Harlem Capital, Streamlined Ventures, and Westbound. The startup is building a universal digital wallet designed for the AI-native web, enabling autonomous agents to transact seamlessly without repeated user approvals.
The platform allows customers to load credits into a single wallet that can be used across any merchant or AI service in the Lava network, including foundational models such as GPT and Claude. By removing payment friction, Lava aims to provide the infrastructure for an interconnected “agent economy,” with funding directed toward hiring, product development, and global go-to-market expansion.
