London-based payments infrastructure startup Primer has secured $100 million in a Series C funding round to advance its AI-enabled payments platform, according to sifted.eu. The round was led by Sofina, with participation from Peak XV Partners and existing investors including Balderton, Accel, ICONIQ, Tencent, and Speedinvest.
Founded in 2020 by former PayPal employees, Primer offers a platform that allows large e-commerce merchants to integrate and manage multiple payment service providers simultaneously. The platform supports major players such as Checkout.com, Stripe, WorldPay, Klarna, and GoCardless. In November last year, Primer introduced an AI agent called Primer Companion, which understands the context of a merchant’s payment ecosystem to provide recommendations, answer queries, and implement approved changes automatically.
This funding round underscores the growing importance of AI in the payments sector, where automation and intelligent decision-making can significantly enhance efficiency and reduce friction for merchants. Primer’s approach to fully AI-enabled payment management positions it alongside other fintech innovators seeking to streamline complex payment processes for large-scale e-commerce businesses. The involvement of prominent investors reflects confidence in Primer’s technology and market potential.
With the new capital, Primer plans to expand the capabilities of its AI agent so it can operate autonomously within parameters set by merchants. This development aims to enable the platform to make payment decisions independently, enhancing automation and responsiveness. The company’s focus on AI-driven payments infrastructure signals its intent to lead innovation in this space over the next few years.