{"id":"kite-ai","title":"Kite AI","content":"**Kite AI** is a sovereign, EVM-compatible Layer-1 [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) designed to provide foundational infrastructure for an \"agentic internet.\" The platform aims to create a trust and payment layer for autonomous [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents), enabling them to operate, interact, and transact securely and at scale. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-w1KOYCMSPR) [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-jFXbrRrmhs)\n\n## Overview\n\nKite AI was developed to address the anticipated challenges of a future internet where autonomous [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) play a significant role in communication and commerce. The project's premise is that the current internet infrastructure is \"human-centric\" and lacks the necessary systems for identity, trust, and scalable payments required for a machine-to-machine economy. Kite proposes a solution through a purpose-built [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) that provides [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) with native identity, governance, and payment capabilities. This infrastructure is intended to serve as the backbone for an \"autonomous economy\" or \"agentic economy,\" where [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) can discover, negotiate, and pay for services without human intervention. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-w1KOYCMSPR) [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-jFXbrRrmhs)\n\nThe core of the platform is the Kite Chain, a Layer-1 [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) that facilitates interoperability between different AI applications and systems. For example, it is designed to allow a large language model to communicate with a specialized e-commerce agent to execute a purchase on behalf of a user. The ecosystem includes a suite of developer tools, SDKs, and an AI agent marketplace to foster the creation and monetization of AI-driven applications. The project emphasizes the use of stablecoins for transactions, predicting that [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) will become the largest users of such digital currencies, requiring an infrastructure capable of handling millions of instant, global micropayments. [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-DhQ32hlkKD) [\\[4\\]](#cite-id-bOCP8QoM9p)\n\n## History\n\nThe official X (formerly Twitter) account for Kite AI was created in October 2024. The project launched its first [testnet](https://iq.wiki/wiki/testnet), \"Testnet Aero,\" around February 2025. Later, the [testnet](https://iq.wiki/wiki/testnet) was upgraded to a new phase called \"Testnet Ozone.\" Throughout its development, the project secured significant funding from venture capital firms and angel investors. Prior to its public funding announcement, the company raised a $15 million seed round. [\\[4\\]](#cite-id-bOCP8QoM9p) [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-DhQ32hlkKD)\n\nOn September 2, 2025, Kite AI announced it had closed an $18 million Series A funding round, co-led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst. This brought the company's total capital raised to $33 million. The announcement highlighted the project's mission to build the foundational infrastructure for the agentic internet, focusing on unified identity, governance, and native [stablecoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/stablecoin) payments for [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents). [\\[5\\]](#cite-id-WSHQrDmk63)\n\nFollowing the funding announcement, the project continued to build out its ecosystem and technical capabilities. In October 2025, Kite AI unveiled its \"Ecosystem Map,\" which featured over 100 partners from both Web2 and [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) sectors. On October 16, 2025, the project announced the launch of the Kite Validator Program, an initiative to invite global validators to secure and grow the network. The following day, the team held a promotional event with its partner and investor, PayPal, to discuss their shared vision for the future of the agentic internet. [\\[4\\]](#cite-id-bOCP8QoM9p)\n\n## Technology\n\nKite AI is built on a sovereign, EVM-compatible Layer-1 [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain), which allows developers familiar with [Ethereum](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ethereum) to build smart contracts and decentralized applications on its network. The architecture is designed to be modular, enabling developers to use its components either independently or as a complete stack. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-w1KOYCMSPR)\n\n### Architecture\n\nThe Kite technology stack is composed of several distinct layers:\n\n* **Base Layer:** This foundational layer includes the core EVM-compatible infrastructure, proprietary \"KiteVM extensions,\" and the [consensus mechanism](https://iq.wiki/wiki/consensus-mechanism).\n* **Platform Layer:** This layer provides SDKs, [APIs](https://iq.wiki/wiki/apis), and scalability solutions to support developers.\n* **Developer Tools:** A suite of tools designed to streamline the process of building and launching [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) on the network.\n* **Agent Ecosystem:** This layer facilitates agent-to-agent interaction through components like the [Model Context Protocol](https://iq.wiki/wiki/model-context-protocol) (MCP), agent passports, and service-level agreements (SLAs).\n* **Application Ecosystem:** A marketplace for scaling and monetizing [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) built on the Kite platform.\n\nThis modular design is intended to offer high throughput, scalability, and customization for developers building specialized applications. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-w1KOYCMSPR)\n\n### Consensus Mechanism\n\nThe Kite [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) utilizes a proprietary [consensus mechanism](https://iq.wiki/wiki/consensus-mechanism) known as **Proof of Artificial Intelligence (PoAI)**. According to the project's official materials, this mechanism is designed to drive \"ecosystem alignment and sustainable growth.\" However, detailed technical specifications on how the PoAI mechanism functions have not been publicly released. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-jFXbrRrmhs)\n\n### Core Components\n\nKite AI's infrastructure is built around three core \"superpowers\" for [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents), which are delivered through a set of native features and protocols. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-jFXbrRrmhs)\n\n#### Agent Native Identity & Authentication\n\nThe platform provides a system for assigning a unique, verifiable cryptographic identity to AI \"actors\" (such as models and agents) and \"assets\" (like datasets and digital services). This identity system is designed to be portable and interoperable, with a reputation system linked to the owner's reputation through a \"provable lineage.\" This feature aims to enhance traceability, [provenance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/provenance), and trust in AI interactions. A key component of this system is **KitePass**, which functions as a payment and identity layer, allowing registered agents to transact across all platforms that support the protocol. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-w1KOYCMSPR) [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-OtrEdugNh2)\n\n#### Agent Native Governance\n\nKite offers programmable and fine-grained governance controls for [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents). Developers can establish granular rules that define delegated permissions, usage constraints, and spending limits. This allows for the safe and controlled autonomous operation of agents, ensuring they act within predefined boundaries without constant human oversight. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-jFXbrRrmhs)\n\n#### Agent Native Payments\n\nThe platform is optimized for machine-to-machine value transfer, enabling instant micropayments with near-zero transaction fees (claimed to be less than $0.000001 on the [testnet](https://iq.wiki/wiki/testnet)). The system provides native access to stablecoins, allowing autonomous systems to discover, negotiate, and pay for services seamlessly. To standardize these transactions, Kite AI adopted the **Agent Payments Protocol (AP2)**, a protocol designed to facilitate secure payments between [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents). [\\[7\\]](#cite-id-yd6evGt8ML) [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-jFXbrRrmhs)\n\n### AI Agent Marketplace\n\nA central component of the Kite ecosystem is the **AI Agent Marketplace**, also referred to as the Agentic Network or Agent Store. This marketplace allows developers to list their AI agents and [APIs](https://iq.wiki/wiki/apis), making them discoverable to users and other builders. The platform is designed to enable users to employ these agents for real-world tasks such as shopping, ordering groceries, or hailing rides. Early listings on the marketplace included agents focused on [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) data, AI infrastructure, and real-world data feeds from partners like DappLooker, Heurist, APRO, and Nubila. [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-OtrEdugNh2)\n\n## Ecosystem and Partnerships\n\nKite AI has established a broad ecosystem of investors, technology partners, and data providers to support the development of its agentic network.\n\n### Funding\n\nAs of September 2025, Kite AI has raised a total of 15 million and an $18 million Series A round announced on September 2, 2025. The Series A was co-led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst. [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-DhQ32hlkKD) [\\[5\\]](#cite-id-WSHQrDmk63)​\n\n### Investors\n\nThe project is backed by a combination of institutional venture capital firms and individual angel investors from the technology and [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) sectors.\n\n**Institutional Investors:**\n\n* PayPal Ventures (Lead)\n* General Catalyst (Lead)\n* 8VC\n* [Alchemy](https://iq.wiki/wiki/alchemy)\n* Alumni Ventures\n* [Animoca Brands](https://iq.wiki/wiki/animoca)\n* [Avalanche](https://iq.wiki/wiki/avalanche)\n* Dispersion VC\n* Essence Venture\n* GSR\n* [Hashed](https://iq.wiki/wiki/hashed)\n* HashKey Capital\n* [LayerZero](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layerzero)\n* Samsung Next\n* Vertex Ventures\n\n**Angel Investors:**\n\n* [Evan Cheng](https://iq.wiki/wiki/evan-cheng) (Co-founder & CEO, [MystenLabs](https://iq.wiki/wiki/mysten-labs))\n* Hao Min (VP, [Circle](https://iq.wiki/wiki/circle))\n* Edwina Aoki (SVP, Nasdaq; former CTO of [blockchain](https://iq.wiki/wiki/blockchain) at PayPal)\n* Frank Chang (VP, Uber)\n* Navin Gupta (CEO, Crystal Intelligence; former Managing Director at [Ripple](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ripple-labs))\n* Bohan Zhang (Member of Technical Staff, OpenAI)\n* John Liu (Head of Product, AWS)\n* Grigore Rosu (Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)\n* Haiyan Huang (Professor, University of California, Berkeley)\n* Sriram Vishwanath (Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology)\n\nThe list of investors was confirmed through the company's official announcements. [\\[5\\]](#cite-id-WSHQrDmk63)​\n\n### Technology and Data Partners\n\nKite AI has announced numerous strategic partnerships to build out its data and infrastructure layers. These collaborations are intended to provide [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents) on the network with access to diverse, real-time, and verified information. Key partners include:\n\n* **APRO:** Provides AI-enhanced [oracle](https://iq.wiki/wiki/oracle) infrastructure for real-world asset (RWA) and DeFi data.\n* **BitMind:** Offers deepfake detection services to enhance trust and security on the network.\n* **CARV:** Powers the network with [Web3](https://iq.wiki/wiki/web3) gaming and identity data.\n* **Codatta:** Serves as a knowledge layer, integrating 500 million healthcare data points.\n* **Irys:** Provides a data layer to complement Kite's transaction layer.\n* **Masa:** Acts as an open data store for public web data to empower social [AI agents](https://iq.wiki/wiki/ai-agents).\n* **Nubila:** Streams verified, real-world weather and environmental data.\n* **Pi Squared:** Integrates high-performance settlement infrastructure.\n* **Vishwa:** Enables agentic liquidity strategies on the network.\n\nIn October 2025, the project's ecosystem map also included logos from major technology companies such as Google, Shopify, [Coinbase](https://iq.wiki/wiki/coinbase), and [Chainlink](https://iq.wiki/wiki/chainlink), indicating a broad range of integrations and collaborations. [\\[7\\]](#cite-id-yd6evGt8ML) [\\[4\\]](#cite-id-bOCP8QoM9p)​\n\n## Team\n\nKite AI was co-founded by [**Chi Zhang**](https://iq.wiki/wiki/chi-zhang), who serves as the company's CEO, and **Scott Shi**, who is the CTO. The broader team is composed of individuals with backgrounds from prominent technology companies and academic institutions, including Uber, Databricks, Salesforce, UC Berkeley, MIT, and Harvard. [\\[4\\]](#cite-id-bOCP8QoM9p) [\\[7\\]](#cite-id-yd6evGt8ML)​\n\n## Adoption and Metrics\n\nAs of October 2025, the Kite AI network was in its [testnet](https://iq.wiki/wiki/testnet) phase. The project reported combined metrics from its \"Testnet Aero\" and \"Testnet Ozone\" stages, indicating significant early activity and engagement.\n\n**Combined Testnet Metrics (as of October 13, 2025):**\n\n* **Total Engaged Users:** 16.7 million\n* **Monthly Active Users (MAU):** 9.72 million\n* **Daily Active Users (DAU):** 3.7 million\n* **Total Transactions:** 401.6 million\n* **Total AI Inference Calls:** Over 1.7 billion\n* **Total Unique AI Inference Users:** 10.35 million\n\nThe project also reported a peak of 1.01 million daily agent interactions and the creation of 17.8 million \"Agent Passports\" on its [testnet](https://iq.wiki/wiki/testnet). In addition to on-chain metrics, the project has cultivated a large online community, with its official Discord server having over 653,000 members as of October 2025. [\\[4\\]](#cite-id-bOCP8QoM9p) [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-jFXbrRrmhs) [\\[8\\]](#cite-id-YpvN0Dxl21)","summary":"Kite AI is a Layer 1 blockchain and AI infrastructure project, billed as the 'First AI Payment Blockchain.' 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