Catena Labs

Pioneering the AI-Native Financial Institution

When artificial intelligence systems evolve from simple assistants to autonomous actors capable of negotiating contracts, booking flights, and executing complex workflows, a fundamental problem emerges: the legacy financial system is not designed for them. Traditional payment rails assume a human is on the other end of every transaction, leading to slow processing times, high fees, and security flags that block automated activities. Catena Labs is building the first AI-native financial institution to provide the critical infrastructure and services that AI systems need to conduct commerce securely and efficiently.

Led by Sean Neville, the co-founder of Circle who helped scale the USDC stablecoin into a globally recognized digital dollar, Catena Labs is engineering a completely new financial stack from the ground up. This infrastructure will allow trusted software agents to send stablecoins across the globe with near-instant finality and ultra-low fees, while integrating the built-in identity and compliance frameworks that modern enterprises demand. By bridging the gap between cutting-edge AI technology and regulated financial services, Catena Labs is unlocking an entirely new class of applications, such as real-time payments for AI-generated content and autonomous data sourcing. The current paradigm of payments is built around human latency—days for settlement, manual fraud reviews, and fragmented banking APIs. For an AI agent executing thousands of micro-transactions per minute, this friction is prohibitive. Catena Labs solves this by treating AI agents as first-class citizens in the financial ecosystem, granting them the ability to hold balances, prove identity cryptographically, and settle transactions programmatically without human intervention. This shift represents a monumental leap in how value moves across the internet, transforming AI from a purely informational tool into an active economic participant capable of generating and managing wealth independently.

In May 2025, Catena Labs emerged from stealth with an $18 million seed funding round led by a16z crypto, alongside prominent investors including Breyer Capital, Circle Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and several high-profile angel investors. This capital injection is accelerating the development of their platform, enabling them to hire top-tier talent from companies like Meta, Google, and Jump Crypto, and pushing them closer to acquiring the necessary financial licenses to operate as a fully regulated entity. The backing of such prominent investors signals a strong market belief in the necessity of a dedicated financial layer for the agentic economy. As AI continues to permeate every aspect of digital life, the infrastructure being built at Catena Labs will likely serve as the backbone for a new era of autonomous commerce. The foundational work being done today will dictate how the next generation of digital economies operates, making this a pivotal moment in the evolution of both finance and artificial intelligence.

A Culture of Pioneering Innovation

At Catena Labs, the culture is defined by a relentless pursuit of innovation at the intersection of artificial intelligence and financial services. The team operates in a highly collaborative and ambiguous environment, where the challenges they face have no established playbooks. This requires a unique blend of curiosity, resilience, and a deep commitment to building performant, reliable, and secure systems. Every day presents new problems that sit squarely at the frontier of cryptography, machine learning, and distributed systems. The team is united by a shared vision of the future, one where intelligent software seamlessly integrates with global financial networks to unlock unprecedented levels of efficiency and capability.

Engineers and data scientists at Catena Labs are not just writing code; they are inventing new ways for humans and AI agents to interact with financial systems. The company values individuals who have a genuine curiosity for emerging technologies like AI agents, stablecoins, and programmable identity. More importantly, they seek builders who leverage AI tools in their own workflows to multiply productivity and streamline development processes. The expectation is that you are not merely building tools for AI, but actively co-creating with AI, pushing the boundaries of what small, high-leverage teams can accomplish. This meta-level engagement with the technology fosters an environment where continuous learning and rapid iteration are deeply ingrained in the daily workflow.

The culture also emphasizes a strong security mindset. Given that they are building financial infrastructure where real money and assets are at stake, understanding the nuances of prompt injection, adversarial inputs, and compliance is paramount. A single vulnerability in an agent's financial logic could lead to catastrophic losses, meaning that engineering rigor is not just a preference, but an absolute necessity. The team is driven by the mission to build a stronger, more resilient global economy that creates broad prosperity, and they are looking for people who share this passion and are ready to tackle unprecedented technical challenges with meticulous attention to detail. This dual focus on rapid innovation and uncompromising security creates a unique cultural dynamic, where speed is balanced with profound responsibility.

What You'll Actually Do

As a member of the Catena Labs engineering team, your day-to-day work will directly impact the future of the agent economy. For instance, as a Senior Software Engineer, you will be a core contributor to the Agent Commerce Kit (ACK), developing the applications, APIs, and SDKs that facilitate secure communication, collaboration, and transactions between AI agents and users. You will design and implement end-to-end user experiences tailored for AI agents, ensuring that financial interactions are not only secure but also reliable and efficient. This involves deep technical work, abstracting the complexities of blockchain networks and cryptographic protocols into seamless developer experiences. You will be tasked with creating the very primitives that developers worldwide will use to embed financial capabilities into their AI models.

A significant portion of your work will involve building elegant systems to handle cryptographic identity management, payment workflows, and transaction processing. You will engineer systems that empower agents to establish digital identities, discover peers, and manage their reputations effectively. Furthermore, you will contribute to the scalable infrastructure required to ensure rapid and secure coordination among decentralized AI agents, working primarily with Python, TypeScript, Go, and React, and deploying on platforms like AWS and Cloudflare. You will need to think critically about system architecture, optimizing for low latency and high throughput while maintaining strict security guarantees. The systems you build must be robust enough to handle the unpredictable nature of autonomous agents interacting in complex, multi-agent environments.

For leadership roles, such as the Head of Applied AI, the focus shifts to owning the orchestration layer that connects product experiences to the core banking infrastructure. You will establish evaluation frameworks to prove the reliability of the AI agents, stay ahead of emerging agent protocols like A2A, MCP, and LangGraph, and ensure that AI capabilities are deeply integrated across the product suite. This role is highly hands-on, requiring you to build systems directly while setting the technical direction for how AI works across the entire company. You will be responsible for defining the boundaries of what AI agents can do autonomously versus what requires human oversight, balancing innovation with risk management. This involves collaborating closely with compliance, legal, and product teams to ensure that the technical vision aligns with regulatory realities and market needs.

Compensation & Benefits

Catena Labs is committed to attracting and retaining top-tier talent to build the future of AI-native finance. While specific salary ranges for all roles are not publicly disclosed, the compensation packages are designed to be highly competitive within the tech and fintech industries. Based on limited public data, a Senior Software Engineer at Catena Labs can expect a salary range of $125K–$165K, though this may vary based on experience, location, and the specific demands of the role. For other positions, such as Product Managers or Data Scientists, the exact compensation figures remain Unknown, as they have not been officially verified through credible public sources. The company conducts regular market analyses to ensure that its compensation remains attractive in a highly competitive talent landscape.

In addition to competitive base salaries, Catena Labs offers a comprehensive benefits package that aligns with the expectations of a modern, remote-first startup. Employees can expect standard benefits such as health, dental, and vision insurance, as well as generous paid time off and flexible working hours. Given the remote nature of the company, there are likely provisions for home office stipends and continuous learning opportunities, ensuring that team members have the resources they need to thrive in a distributed work environment. The company recognizes that to do their best work, employees need a supportive environment that prioritizes their well-being and professional growth. This holistic approach to benefits underscores the company's commitment to building a sustainable, long-term organization.

Furthermore, as an early-stage startup backed by leading venture capital firms, Catena Labs likely offers equity compensation as part of the overall package. This provides employees with a tangible stake in the company's success and aligns their interests with the long-term vision of building a revolutionary financial institution for the agent economy. Joining at the seed stage means that the potential upside of this equity is significant, reflecting the outsized impact early employees will have on the company's trajectory. The combination of competitive cash compensation, comprehensive benefits, and meaningful equity makes Catena Labs an attractive destination for ambitious professionals looking to make a lasting impact.

The Interview Process

The interview process at Catena Labs is designed to be rigorous, collaborative, and reflective of the complex challenges the team is tackling. While the exact steps may vary depending on the role, candidates can generally expect a multi-stage process that evaluates both technical proficiency and cultural fit. The company is looking for individuals who can not only write excellent code but also think deeply about the systemic implications of their work. The goal is to build a team of highly capable problem solvers who are comfortable navigating ambiguity and taking ownership of complex technical domains.

The process typically begins with an initial screening call with a recruiter or hiring manager to discuss your background, experience, and interest in Catena Labs. This is followed by one or more technical interviews, which may involve coding exercises, system design discussions, or deep dives into past projects. For engineering roles, candidates will likely be assessed on their proficiency with the company's tech stack, their understanding of backend architecture, and their ability to build scalable, secure systems. You should be prepared to discuss complex engineering trade-offs, particularly those related to security, performance, and reliability. The interviewers are not just looking for correct answers; they are interested in your thought process and how you approach novel problems.

Given the unique nature of the product, candidates may also be asked to demonstrate their understanding of emerging technologies such as AI agents, stablecoins, and cryptographic identity. For leadership roles, the interview process will place a heavy emphasis on strategic thinking, evaluation methodologies, and the ability to set technical direction while remaining hands-on. You may be asked to walk through how you would architect a system from scratch, detailing the technologies you would choose and the risks you would mitigate. This holistic evaluation ensures that candidates possess the technical depth and strategic vision required to succeed in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment.

Throughout the process, candidates will have the opportunity to meet with cross-functional team members, including product managers, designers, and other engineers. This not only allows the team to assess your ability to collaborate in an ambiguous environment but also gives you a chance to learn more about the company's culture and vision. The final stage usually involves an interview with a senior leader or founder, ensuring alignment on the company's mission and values. This comprehensive approach ensures that both the candidate and the company are confident in their mutual fit.

Why Join / Why Not

Why Join:

Joining Catena Labs is an opportunity to be at the forefront of a technological revolution. If you are passionate about the intersection of artificial intelligence and financial services, this is a chance to build the foundational infrastructure for the emerging agent economy. You will be working alongside a world-class team of builders from leading tech companies, solving novel technical challenges that have never been tackled before. The remote-first nature of the company offers flexibility, while the backing of top-tier investors like a16z crypto provides the resources and stability needed to execute on an ambitious vision. If you thrive in ambiguous environments and want your work to have a massive, global impact, Catena Labs is the place for you. You will have the opportunity to shape an entirely new category of financial software, defining how AI agents interact with value on a global scale. The work you do here will lay the groundwork for the next major paradigm shift in digital commerce.

Why Not:

However, Catena Labs may not be the right fit for everyone. The company operates in a highly ambiguous and rapidly evolving space, which requires a high degree of adaptability and resilience. If you prefer a highly structured environment with established playbooks and clear, predictable roadmaps, the startup culture at Catena Labs might feel overwhelming. Additionally, because the company is building regulated financial infrastructure, there is a strong emphasis on security, compliance, and rigorous evaluation, which may slow down the pace of development compared to traditional consumer software startups. Finally, as an early-stage company, the workload can be demanding, and the expectations for independent problem-solving are exceptionally high. The stakes are high, and the pressure to deliver secure, reliable systems can be intense. If you are not comfortable operating at the intersection of rapid innovation and strict regulatory compliance, this may not be the ideal environment for you.