Delaware-based Causa Prima, which develops an agent-to-agent AI platform for managing B2B payments, resolving billing disputes, and more, raised a $20M seed (Camila Grigera Naón/Fortune)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming a staple in the modern workplace, with firms now employing agents that interact not only within their own businesses but also with counterparts at other companies. One startup, Causa Prima, is leveraging this trend by developing software that enables AI agents to act on behalf of companies and collaborate on resolving billing disputes and accelerating payment times between businesses and their suppliers.

Causa Prima recently secured a $20 million seed round, closing the deal in September, to further develop its platform focused on agent-to-agent transactions. The company, based in Delaware, was co-founded by German entrepreneurs Maex Ament, Henrik Gebbing, and Philip Stanislaus. Their previous funding round raised $10 million, bringing their total financing to $30 million.

Causa Prima's CEO and co-founder Maex Ament stated that the current manual processes are hindering efficiency, and the solution lies in a network of agents facilitating accounts payable and accounts receivable between companies. The investment, led by Base10 Partners, was also supported by QED Investors, FJ Labs, and existing investors Creandum, Kfund, and Borusan Ventures.

Causa Prima has 25 employees spread across offices in Madrid and Munich and intends to expand into the United States by opening a New York office. The company estimates that $98 trillion in payments occur between businesses annually, while the broader market opportunity is valued at $125 trillion by Mastercard. Manual approvals often lead to delays, with an average processing time of over eight days, according to a 2025 report by Ardent Partners.

Causa Prima targets this inefficiency by taking a percentage of the payments when its AI agents successfully negotiate early settlements between buyers and suppliers. Maex Ament's background in the payments industry dates back to his time at SAP SE and fintech firms specialized in accounts payable and receivable. His earlier venture, Taulia, focused on supply chain finance and electronic invoicing before Ament shifted his attention to blockchain technology, founding Centrifuge in 2017.

Gebbing also left his corporate career in 2018 after three years at McKinsey & Company to co-found Finoa, a fintech company helping businesses transition onto blockchain. The founders' friendship blossomed into a business partnership after they were introduced by local venture capitalists who had previously declined to invest in their earlier startups but recognized their potential as German founders married to Spanish women.

Their latest venture, Causa Prima, aims to address the challenge of inefficient communication between AI agents within corporations, ultimately seeking to streamline the entire payment process.