M13 vs Peak XV Partners

What Is Agentic Identity? Meet Baselayer, the Identity Infrastructure for AI Agents

M13 announces fundraising for Baselayer, an identity infrastructure for AI agents, with a dedicated article published on September 22, 2026.

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.

Peak XV Raises Surge Seed Ceiling to $5M, Unveils 18-Startup Cohort

Peak XV Partners, a major VC firm with over $10 billion in assets under management, has increased the maximum investment per startup through its Surge seed platform from $3 million to $5 million. The firm announced its 12th cohort, Surge 12, comprising 18 startups, with more than $50 million invested across the cohort. The startups span sectors including AI, robotics, space, healthcare, fintech, and more, with founders from diverse backgrounds. Notable startups include August AI, Ditto, and ULOOK. Peak XV notes that the bar for Series A funding has increased significantly, and they are seeing more capital-intensive startups, especially in deeptech. Surge has backed over 180 startups since 2019, and the top 10 companies from previous cohorts generate over $1 billion in combined annual revenue.

• Peak XV increased Surge's investment ceiling from $3M to $5M per startup.
• Surge 12 cohort includes 18 startups with over $50M invested by Peak XV.
• The cohort has collectively raised over $90M in seed funding.

India's Ringg raises $10M to expand voice AI

Ringg, an Indian voice AI startup that processes about 20 million call attempts per month, raised $10 million from Peak XV Partners as an extension of its Series A, bringing the round total to $15.5 million after an earlier $5.5 million raise. Founded as text-to-speech startup DesiVocal, Ringg shifted to building voice AI agents and orchestration for enterprise workflows and counts customers including Cred, Flipkart, Practo, Groww, PolicyBazaar and Shell. Its voice agent runs across 1,200 clinics for Practo. The company is expanding beyond voice into chat and WhatsApp, builds its own speech models while operating primarily as an orchestration layer, and currently has about 40 employees with recent hiring for engineering and research roles.

• Ringg raised $10 million from Peak XV Partners as an extension of its Series A.
• Ringg previously raised $5.5 million earlier in 2026, bringing the Series A total to $15.5 million.
• Ringg processes about 20 million call attempts per month.

Blacksmith valuation rises 10x to $550M after $45M Series B

Blacksmith, an AI code-testing startup founded in 2024, raised $45 million in a Series B led by Peak XV Partners at a $550 million valuation, up from a $60 million valuation at a $10 million Series A less than a year earlier. Existing investors GV and Y Combinator participated, bringing total funding to $58.5 million. Blacksmith says it now serves more than 5,000 customers (including Mercury, Supabase, Clerk, Ashby, and Expensify) and has grown from roughly 10 employees and a $10 million annualized run rate to about 30 employees and "tens of millions" in revenue, with some customers spending over $1 million annually. The company started as a cloud CI provider and expanded its platform with an AI coding agent called Codesmith. Management plans to broaden its suite of coding tools amid competition from major cloud providers and developer tooling companies.

• Blacksmith raised $45 million in a Series B led by Peak XV Partners, valuing the company at $550 million.
• The $550 million valuation is up from a $60 million valuation at a $10 million Series A less than a year earlier.
• Existing investors GV and Y Combinator participated; total funding to date is $58.5 million.