Sponge
Financial infrastructure enabling AI agents to hold and disburse funds without human intervention — built by ex-Stripe engineers
YC W26
Batch
Ex-Stripe
Founding Team
3
Chains Supported
Overview
Sponge is financial infrastructure for the agent economy, enabling AI agents to hold and disburse funds without human intervention. Founded by ex-Stripe tech leads who built Stripe's stablecoin financial accounts and core money movement systems, Sponge provides wallets, payment gateways, and virtual cards for autonomous agents. Users fund their Sponge Wallet once, and agents autonomously use those funds to pay for services. Businesses can use Sponge Gateway to sell directly to agents without requiring human credit card entry or API key generation.
The Verdict
Who Should Use Sponge?
Best For
- Developers building agents that need to pay for services autonomously
- Businesses wanting to sell APIs directly to AI agents
- Teams familiar with Stripe's infrastructure patterns
- Projects using Claude Code, Codex, or OpenClaw
- Stablecoin-native payment workflows
Not Ideal For
- Teams avoiding crypto/stablecoin infrastructure
- Organizations requiring traditional bank integrations only
- Simple agents without payment needs
- Enterprise requiring extensive compliance support
What's Great
- Founded by ex-Stripe engineers who built stablecoin payments
- Y Combinator W26 backed
- Sponge Card — Visa virtual cards backed by stablecoin balance
- MCP integration for Claude Code and OpenClaw
- TypeScript SDK with comprehensive API documentation
- Multi-chain support (Base, Solana, Tempo)
- No-code gateway setup for businesses
Watch Out For
- Early-stage startup (2026 founding)
- Stablecoin-based — requires crypto familiarity
- Limited to online/Visa-accepted merchants
- Agent economy infrastructure still nascent
Pricing
Sponge Wallet
Free to start
Transaction fees on payments
Sponge Gateway
Usage-based
Sell to agents without code changes
Sponge Card
Per-card fees
Visa virtual cards for agents
View all features & details
Products
- Sponge Wallet — agent-controlled funds
- Sponge Gateway — sell APIs to agents
- Sponge Card — Visa virtual cards
- Agent Skill marketplace
Integrations
- Claude Code
- Codex
- OpenClaw
- MCP (Model Context Protocol)
- TypeScript SDK
Chains Supported
- Base
- Solana
- Tempo
Founding Team
- Jae Choi — ex-Stripe, Waterloo CS
- Rishab Luthra — ex-Stripe crypto team
- Eric Zhang — ex-Stripe stablecoin lead
How It Compares
| Feature | Sponge | Kite | Meow Technologies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Agent wallets & gateway | Full payment layer | Agent banking |
| Settlement | Stablecoins | Own blockchain | Traditional banking |
| Card Issuing | Visa via Rain | No | Yes |
| MCP Integration | Yes | Yes | No |
| Team Background | Ex-Stripe | Crypto-native | Fintech |
| Funding | YC W26 | $35M | ~$30M |
User Reviews
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