San Francisco-based fintech startup Atum has exited stealth mode, announcing a $13.5 million seed funding round. The investment was led by Variant, with additional participation from PayPal Ventures and Abstract Ventures.
The company introduced its Open Payments Network on September 22. This platform serves as a coordination layer between payment initiators—such as enterprises, apps, and AI agents—and independent settlement providers.
Atum does not issue its own currency, operate a blockchain, or hold customer funds. Instead, it separates the initiation of a payment from the actual settlement process, allowing providers to compete for transaction fulfillment.
The network utilizes smart contracts to secure funds until delivery is verified. Furthermore, the platform supports agentic payments, enabling AI agents to conduct transactions autonomously using protocols like x402 and MPP.
The company is led by CEO Pete Cooling, who previously managed crypto product initiatives at Visa and contributed to the Linux OpenWallet Foundation.
