CARPL.ai raises $10 million from IFC to expand its AI radiology platform

Natural has successfully raised $30 million in a Series A funding round. These funds are earmarked to accelerate the development of specialized payment infrastructure designed specifically for the needs of AI agents. The round was led by Forerunner, with existing investors continuing to provide support, bringing the company's total funding to over $40 million.

Growing Interest in Agent Payments

The investment came less than a year after the company's launch and reflects growing confidence that AI agents will increasingly participate in financial transactions. The new round attracted the attention of founders and executives from leading technology and fintech companies, underscoring significant industry interest in the emerging agent payments sector.

Fundamental Platform for AI

Natural was founded by individuals such as Kahlil Lalji, Eric Wang, and Walt Leung. The company is developing a specialized payment platform that enables AI agents to manage funds, move money, make purchases, collect payments, and conduct transactions across various banking networks and payment channels. The company believes that autonomous AI systems will become significant financial participants as businesses increasingly adopt agents for self-performing work tasks. Instead of using infrastructure designed for humans, Natural is creating a dedicated financial stack tailored to the operational requirements of AI-based software.

Product Line Development

Natural has already released six products to the public, including Wallets, Vaults, Pay, Request, Transfer, and Connect. These services allow businesses to create financial accounts for AI agents, execute fund transfers, process payments, and integrate payment capabilities into marketplaces and platforms. In the coming months, the company plans to expand its platform with new products such as Voice, Accept, and Cards. These new features will enable AI agents to securely accept payment data, process payments from vendors, and use specialized payment cards.

Future Development Directions

Later this year, Natural intends to introduce the Charge, Credit, Direct, and Billing products. These additions will provide support for API-based billing, credit facilities for AI agents, direct access to payment channels, and usage-based payment models for autonomous software.

Momentum in the AI Payments Market

The secured funds will help Natural continue building its proprietary banking and payment infrastructure, as well as expanding its engineering and commercial teams. Despite being young, the company claims to have developed most of its core technology internally and is actively hiring staff across all departments. Investors believe that AI agents are transforming from simple productivity tools into autonomous economic participants capable of managing financial operations on behalf of businesses. As adoption grows, demand is expected to increase for specialized infrastructure that manages identity, compliance, reconciliation, fraud prevention, and payment orchestration for these digital workers.

Investment in Long-Term Vision

The Series A was led by Forerunner with participation from existing investors. Additional sponsors include founders and executives from Human Capital, Abstract, Increase, HappyRobot, Browserbase, Notion, Privy, Brex, Y Combinator, Antifund, and several other technology firms. Natural stated that the new capital will be directed toward further product development, as the company is building what it calls the foundational payment infrastructure for AI agents. The company predicts that autonomous software will become an increasingly vital part of global commerce, requiring financial systems designed specifically for machine transactions rather than traditional human workflows. Thus, Natural aims to become the financial backbone powering the next generation of autonomous digital economies.

Whale has successfully closed a Series C funding round, securing an additional $40 million. This brings the total funding in Series C to $100 million. The fundraising comes amid growing corporate interest in artificial intelligence platforms capable of integrating digital tools with real business processes.

New Investors and Development Plans

The leaders of this round were CMB International and SMBC Asia Rising Fund. They were joined by Krungsri Finnovate, Singtel Innov8, Hyundai Motor Group, and Charisma Partners. Previously involved in the round were funds such as Bosch Ventures, MTR Lab, MDI Ventures, Gentree Fund, and Linear Capital.

The company plans to use the raised funds to strengthen international growth, enhance relationships with corporate clients, and deepen integration into local infrastructure. In the near term, Whale aims to increase its presence in North America and the Asia-Pacific regions.

AI Platform Functionality

Founded by Jerry Ye, Whale developed an AI Operating System designed to assist organizations in understanding and automating physical production environments. The company's proprietary Business World Model interprets data collected via cameras, sensors, and audio devices.

Investors are demonstrating confidence in AI tools that genuinely impact business operations, rather than being merely impressive autonomous software. Whale intends to direct capital toward recruiting new specialists, expanding its presence across various regions, and improving the reliability of its platform, especially given the demand for such solutions.

Application Areas and Goals

Whale currently collaborates with enterprises in sectors such as retail, automotive, manufacturing, finance, food processing, healthcare, and telecommunications. The company's primary objective is to help a greater number of organizations automate workflows, ensure regulatory compliance, and gain deep insights into their business operations.

Supporting Corporate AI Growth

CMB International emphasized Whale's capability to execute complex corporate AI projects across different industries and markets, believing that the company's technological foundation ensures long-term global growth. SMBC Asia Rising Fund noted Whale's ability to structure data from the physical environment into actionable business analytics. This partnership is expected to combine Whale's technologies with the international client network of SMBC Group to accelerate solution adoption across various sectors.

Krungsri Finnovate gained capabilities for comprehensive operational support in the ASEAN market from Whale's AI platform, while Hyundai Motor Group believes the technology can be applied in sales, marketing, customer interaction, and service within the Group's business.