Baselayer Secures $35M to Build Identity Infrastructure for AI Agents

The capital injection follows a period of rapid growth for the New York-based startup, which currently provides identity verification services to over 2,300 financial institutions. Founded in 2024 by machine learning expert Timothy Hyde and risk veteran Jonathan Awad, the company has already processed enough data to help its clients prevent over $1 billion in fraud losses.

With the launch of its Agentic Identity Suite, Baselayer aims to address the security gap created as platforms like Shopify and major card networks integrate agent-driven commerce. Current financial infrastructure lacks the protocols to determine if an autonomous agent is authorized to act or which entity it represents. By leveraging its existing network—which already services one in five U.S. financial institutions—the company intends to establish a cryptographic standard for agent-based transactions. M13, which manages $2.2 billion in assets, backed the round alongside Torch Capital, Picus Ventures, and Afore Capital, citing Baselayer's established distribution and production-ready trust graph as key differentiators in the crowded fintech space.