Could This Be the PayPal for AI? Inside Skyfire’s VC Pitch

Are you ready for a world where AI agents can autonomously make purchases and monetize their services? How will commerce and payments evolve as intelligent software agents become ubiquitous?

In this episode, Chris Saad is joined by Amir Sarhangi and Craig DeWitt, co-founders of Skyfire, to explore the cutting-edge intersection of AI, payments, and open protocols.

They discuss Skyfire's mission to become the "Visa for AI" by enabling seamless financial transactions between autonomous agents.

In this episode, you will:

- Discover how Skyfire is building an open protocol for AI agent payments
- Learn about the challenges of creating a new payments network for machine-to-machine transactions
- Understand Skyfire's strategy for solving the "chicken and egg" problem of supply and demand
- Explore potential use cases for agent-to-agent payments in areas like data access, marketing, and recruiting
- Gain insights into Skyfire's business model and approach to monetization
- Hear the founders' vision for how AI agents will transform internet commerce

00:00 Intro
01:25 New Format! Spotlight Episodes
02:14 Today's Spotlight: Skyfire
03:27 The Startup Podcast Pact
04:03 Meet the Founders
04:27 The VC Meeting Begins
05:19 Background of Amir and Skyfire
11:07 Skyfire's Vision for AI Agents
15:49 Building Credibility and Addressing Challenges
21:28 Traction and Market Response
30:15 Overcoming the Catch-22
34:41 Skyfire's Market Strategy and Penetration
36:01 Balancing Enterprise and Startup Needs
41:29 Monetization and Business Model Insights
45:55 Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
54:24 Future of AI and Skyfire's Vision
57:31 Fundraising and Investor Relations
01:00:45 Closing Thoughts

Special Thanks to Llama Lounge - the #1 AI event - for introducing us to to these founders.

Learn more about the startup
Skyfire Website: https://skyfire.xyz/
Follow Amir Sarhangi on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asarhangi/
Follow Craig DeWitt on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigdewitt/

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Key links
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Learn more about Chris and Yaniv
Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/
Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/
Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Editor: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur
Content Strategist: Carolina Franco https://www.linkedin.com/in/francocarolina/
Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

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