Foundation raises $6.4 million to expand from bitcoin hardware wallets into AI agent authorization
Bitcoin (BTC) hardware wallet manufacturer Foundation has raised $6.4 million in a funding round led by Fulgur Ventures with participation from Arche Capital to help accelerate its expansion beyond bitcoin self-custody wallets.
"We aim to support Bitcoin companies that can scale and solve real problems for large markets," Fulgur Ventures Partner Oleg Mikhalsky said in a statement shared with The Block. "Foundation is taking the discipline of self-custody, open source software, dedicated hardware, and explicit user approval, and extending it beyond Bitcoin into identity, multi-factor authentication, and AI agent authorization."
The new capital brings Foundation's total fundraising to $16.5 million, though the structure of the round and a post-money valuation were not disclosed.
"I backed Foundation's original vision in 2022 because Zach and Ken understood that the long game was not just simple signing devices, but secure operating systems coupled with secure hardware enabling users to manage their entire digital lives," said Will Wolf, Partner at Arche Capital, who led Foundation's 2022 seed round from Polychain Capital.
Passport Prime and KeyOS
The firm also announced the general availability of its flagship Passport Prime device on Thursday, which combines a bitcoin hardware wallet, FIDO security keys, 2FA storage, a secrets vault, and 50GB of encrypted storage.
Passport Prime began shipping to pre-order customers in March, and is now open to all buyers for the first time, the firm said, adding that it is the first device in its "Human Authority Hardware" category — dedicated, American-manufactured security devices designed to require explicit human approval for sensitive actions.
"Every era has its key management problem. For Bitcoin it was self-custody. For the agentic era it is who actually authorizes the decisions an AI agent takes on someone's behalf," Foundation co-founder and CEO Zach Herbert said. "That question cannot be answered by the same computer running the agent. It has to be answered on dedicated hardware, with a display you can trust and an operating system you can inspect. Nothing happens without your approval."
Additionally, Foundation expanded access to its KeyOS developer platform, with the SDK opening Passport Prime to developers building security applications. The firm said it plans to launch a KeyOS app store for users by the end of the second quarter.
"A hardware wallet is a calculator. KeyOS is a computer," Foundation co-founder and CTO Ken Carpenter said. "The SDK lets developers write policies that execute inside dedicated security hardware. The device stops being a box your keys sit in and becomes the trust layer for everything you do online."
Cake Wallet is the first external team building on KeyOS, Foundation said, with additional integrations across bitcoin, identity, and AI agent workflows anticipated throughout 2026.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
Canadian Dollar bears retain control near August 7 low amid US-Canada rate gap/trade war
Korea's "Memory Chip Giants" Support Bullish Stock and FX Outlook! Citi Trading Head Favors Contrarian KRW Positioning Around 1400
The recent weakness of the Korean won may only be temporary, as the growth of South Korea’s chip industry is expected to boost the won and support its recovery against the US dollar before the end of the year. The Federal Reserve's hawkish stance and inflation concerns related to rising oil prices could cause the won to temporarily fall below the 1,400 won per US dollar level in the short term.
From "higher for longer" to "the new normal for longer": Oil price shocks combined with the AI bond issuance boom, the financial market ushers in the 5% U.S. Treasury yield as the "new normal"
The borrowing costs of governments around the world continue to rise, with investors demanding higher returns to attract them to hold long-term bonds. The increase in US Treasury yields even prompted Treasury Secretary Scott Besant to announce an expansion of long-term Treasury buybacks—but this intervention failed to prevent the 10-year US Treasury yield from surpassing 5%, reaching its highest level in nearly 20 years.
Crypto prices
More
