Catena Labs raises $30M, seeks national trust charter

Catena Labs has raised $30 million in a Series A round co-led by a16z crypto and has filed with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a National Trust Bank charter. If approved, the charter would allow Catena to act as a regulated fiduciary for autonomous software that handles payments and account activity.

The San Francisco-based startup, co-founded by Circle co-founder Sean Neville, builds a governance layer for transactions executed by AI agents. The platform offers controls that let humans set spending limits, designate approved recipients, cap account holdings and create audit trails before financial execution is handed to autonomous software.

Catena closed an $18 million seed round in 2025 that was also led by a16z crypto.

A16z crypto partners Chris Dixon and Elizabeth Harkavy wrote that Catena is building “a new category of regulated financial infrastructure purpose-built for autonomous software,” and added that agents need “bank accounts and payment rails they can access programmatically, along with clear rules and controls that keep humans in charge.”

The OCC has accepted Catena’s filing for review, a procedural step that does not amount to regulatory approval. The company must meet regulatory requirements and supervisory review before a charter would take effect. If granted, the charter would authorize Catena to hold customer assets and provide fiduciary services under federal oversight, subject to capital, reporting and operational standards.

The funding arrives as financial firms and crypto platforms develop services for agent-driven commerce. Several firms have launched wallets and protocols that allow autonomous agents to negotiate offers, make payments and handle disputes. Consulting firm Deloitte projects that advances in AI combined with stablecoins could reshape parts of financial services by 2030 and increase demand for compliant rails that support programmatic access.

Catena plans to use the Series A to expand product development, strengthen compliance work and integrate with payment networks and custodial partners. Neville and the company have not provided a timetable for OCC approval.