No-Code Meets a New Bottleneck
A growing wave of professionals with no formal coding background is discovering that they can now build custom digital products using so-called vibe coding platforms. Tools such as Lovable enable users to describe what they want in plain language and instantly generate functional code.
These prompt-to-code solutions are proving powerful for rapid prototyping. However, turning a prototype into a fully operational product often exposes a major challenge: integrating external services. Features like SMS notifications, email delivery, or online payments require connections to third-party platforms such as Twilio or Stripe—tasks that can quickly become overwhelming for non-technical creators.
Tackling the Invisible Infrastructure Problem
Ilan Zerbib, former Director of Engineering for Payments at Shopify, believes this friction is holding back the next phase of AI-powered applications. Drawing on five years of experience building payment systems at scale, Zerbib is now focused on removing these behind-the-scenes barriers.
In summer 2025, he launched Sapiom, a startup designed to provide the financial and authentication layer that allows AI agents to securely access and pay for software tools, APIs, data, and computing resources.
Rather than requiring humans to manually configure every service, Sapiom enables AI agents to autonomously decide what they need, authenticate access, and complete micro-payments—without constant oversight.
Why Payments Are the Missing Layer for AI Agents
Whenever an AI-powered application interacts with an external service—sending an SMS, processing a payment, or spinning up cloud infrastructure—it triggers a transaction. Each action requires authentication and a payment flow, even if the cost is only a few cents.
“In the future, apps are going to consume services which require payments. Right now, there’s no easy way for agents to actually access all of that,” said Amit Kumar, Partner at Accel.
Kumar, who has evaluated dozens of startups operating in the AI payments space, sees Sapiom’s enterprise-first approach as a key differentiator.
“If you really think about it, every API call is a payment. Every time you send a text message, it’s a payment. Every time you spin up a server for AWS, it’s a payment,” Kumar told TechCrunch.
$15 Million Backing from Leading Investors
This vision has attracted strong investor confidence. Accel is leading Sapiom’s $15 million seed round, with participation from Okta Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Array Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Anthropic, and Coinbase Ventures.
The funding reflects a growing belief that AI agents will soon operate with far greater autonomy—and that a secure financial layer is essential to make that future viable at scale.
Simplifying Life for Vibe Coders
For creators using vibe-coding platforms, Sapiom’s impact could be immediate. Today, adding SMS functionality to an app means signing up for services like Twilio, entering payment details, managing API keys, and maintaining billing accounts.
With Sapiom in place, those steps disappear. The platform manages authentication and payments in the background, while costs are passed through transparently via the vibe-coding platform itself—such as Lovable, Bolt, or similar tools.
The result: creators can focus on building functionality, not wrestling with infrastructure.
Enterprise First, Consumers Later
At present, Sapiom is firmly focused on B2B use cases. The longer-term potential, however, extends much further. As trust in AI systems grows, personal AI agents could one day handle everyday transactions, from ordering rides to shopping online.
Still, Zerbib remains pragmatic. He does not believe AI alone will drive higher consumer spending. Instead, his priority is enabling businesses to deploy AI agents that can operate independently, securely, and efficiently within existing economic systems.
For now, Sapiom is positioning itself as a foundational layer—quietly powering the financial decisions of the next generation of AI-driven applications.
0 Comments