Baselayer raises $35m Series A to verify AI agent identities

Baselayer, a San Francisco startup that helps financial institutions verify businesses and assess fraud risk, has raised $35m in a Series A round led by M13. Picus Capital, Torch Capital, Afore Capital and Socure’s Matt Thompson also participated, bringing total funding to about $40m since the company was founded in 2023.

The company sells business identity, credit and fraud data to banks, fintechs and other financial services providers, and says more than 2,000 US financial institutions use its platform for Know Your Business checks, underwriting and account opening. Baselayer employs about 50 people across San Francisco and New York.

Alongside the raise, Baselayer launched an Agentic Identity Suite built around what it calls Know Your Agent, or KYA. The system issues credentials to AI agents so merchants and financial institutions can confirm who deployed an agent, who it represents and whether it is authorised to act. Baselayer is working with agent developers, payment processors, merchants and fraud detection providers including FIS, Prove and Socure to issue and recognise the credential.