Pod: Agentic Payments: Ayal Karmi, founder of Nekuda Joins RetailGentic Hot on Heels of $5m Raise from Madrona, Visa and Amex
Nekuda.ai is building the infrastructure for agentic payments. No human. No card. Just secure, authorized AI transactions. We learn what they are building at Nekuda to solve Agentic Payments
Ayal Karmi, Co-founder and CEO of Nekuda, joined us on the Retailgentic Podcast to share how his team is building payment infrastructure for AI agents, not humans.
With a background in statistics and cross-border payments from his time at the Central Bank of Israel, Ayal has built a career at the intersection of AI, fintech, and cryptography. He previously co-founded a computer vision startup focused on agricultural imaging and later joined Solidus Labs, a market surveillance firm for crypto compliance.
A deep believer in open-source development and the power of agentic systems, Ayal helped launch Nekuda after experimenting with AI-powered shopping agents and encountering firsthand the friction in legacy checkout systems. His writing on the future of agent-driven commerce, published on Nekuda’s Substack, attracted early adopters and led to a seed round from Madrona, Visa, American Express, and prominent angel investors.
Nekuda’s story is one of deep curiosity, early conviction, and technical grit. When I read Ayal’s podcast: Unlocking Autonomous Payments and knew we needed him on the pod.
Listen/Watch Our Interview:
In this episode, Scot sits down with Ayal to discuss Nekuda’s mission to support AI agents in making seamless, autonomous payments.Read on (or listen in) to learn:
Why agentic commerce creates new friction and new opportunity
How authentication ≠ authorization in agentic flows
What makes this an "internet checkout rewrite moment"
Why developers, not merchants, are their core users
How writing led to funding
Whether you’re trying to prepare your retail org for agentic AI or just want a glimpse into where digital commerce is heading, this conversation is packed with insight.
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Up next…
Next week on Thursday July 17th we’re talking with a special guest from Generous - helping brands grow by engaging high-intent consumers at life’s most meaningful moments.
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