M13 vs Makers Fund

Investors Are Betting on AI Agents That Shop for You

Venture capitalists are increasingly funding startups building AI agents that can shop on behalf of consumers and handle payments. The article maps the emerging market for "agentic commerce," covering personal assistants like Instinct and Town, shopping search tools like Daydream, payment infrastructure startups like Catena Labs and Basis Theory, and marketing tech such as Profound. Major platforms are also moving: OpenAI and Stripe launched the Agentic Commerce Protocol, Google operates the Agent Payments Protocol, and Visa and Mastercard introduced Trusted Agent Protocol and Agent Pay. However, the space faces trust and fraud challenges, illustrated by Phia's cookie-stuffing scandal and an Instinct agent error that cost a user around $300. Investor interest remains strong, with millions raised across the sector, even as enterprise adoption lags due to compliance and security concerns.

• Adobe Analytics reported that 41% of respondents used AI for online shopping in June 2026.
• OpenAI and Stripe launched the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), while Google operates the Agent Payments Protocol.
• Profound raised $96 million in Series C funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Makers Fund raises $250M Fund IV

Makers Fund announces $250M Fund IV, along with several portfolio company funding news.

Makers Fund Closes $250M Fund IV

Makers Fund, a venture capital firm founded in 2016, has closed its fourth fund at $250 million, bringing its assets under management to $1.5 billion. Fund IV will invest globally across stages in the next generation of games and interactive entertainment, and the firm said it is expanding beyond games into consumer apps, entertainment and creation platforms. Makers has invested in more than 90 portfolio companies and reports that its $180m Fund I has distributed 3.6x the capital invested. The firm said it will use equity, project financing and marketing financing as needed to back founders.

• Makers Fund closed its fourth fund (Fund IV) at $250 million.
• The firm’s total assets under management rose to $1.5 billion.
• Makers has invested in more than 90 portfolio companies since its 2016 founding.

Atomontage rebuilds Virtual Matter for browser AI UGC

Atomontage has rebuilt its Virtual Matter creation platform to enable browser-based user-generated multiplayer games that players can enter via a link with no install. The platform uses ordered, compressed volumetric samples streamed progressively to phones, and adds an optional, model-agnostic AI agent for creation; expensive GPU inference is separated from CPU-only game hosting so play remains low-cost. Atomontage is backed by Makers Fund, Hartmann Capital and a group of angel investors. The company charges makers subscriptions plus metered AI credits, plans a marketplace and engine royalty model, and expects standalone export to itch.io and Steam later in 2026. Cofounders Daniel Tabar and Branislav Siles position the tech as lowering the floor for creators while raising the ceiling for professional designers.

• Atomontage rebuilt its Virtual Matter platform to enable browser-based UGC multiplayer worlds that load from a link with no install.
• The platform uses ordered, compressed volumetric samples streamed progressively to devices and stores persistent, editable world state.
• AI assistance is optional and model-agnostic; GPU inference for creation is routed separately while world simulation and multiplayer run on CPU-only servers.