GoKite (KITE): Layer 1 Blockchain for Autonomous AI Agents
GoKite is the first AI payment blockchain, providing foundational infrastructure for autonomous agents to operate and transact with identity, payment, governance, and verification. Founded by Chi Zhang and Scott Shi in 2023 and backed by PayPal Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and General Catalyst with over $33 million in funding, GoKite (KITE) will soon be available on Bitget!
What is GoKite (KITE)?
GoKite is a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain infrastructure designed to empower autonomous AI agents with native capabilities for identity, payment, governance, and verification. The platform enables AI, machine agents, datasets, and digital services to operate as verifiable economic participants in a new, agent-driven digital economy known as the "Agentic Internet" or "Agentic Economy."
Current internet systems (OAuth, emails, phone numbers) are human-centered and inadequate for AI/machine authentication. Traditional AI models and agents lack fair, transparent systems for attribution and rewards. Existing payment rails (Visa, PayPal) were never built for high-frequency, micro-to-macro payments generated between machines.
GoKite addresses these challenges by providing cryptographic identity through KitePass, giving each AI agent, model, or dataset a unique, verifiable identity to support traceability, provenance, and decentralized governance. The platform offers programmable, fine-grained governance allowing detailed control of permissions, constraints, and spending behaviors for autonomous AI agents. Native, near-zero fee payments enable instant and machine-native value transfers, including stablecoin support, enabling agents to discover, negotiate, and autonomously pay for services.
Core Innovation: GoKite uses Proof of Attributed Intelligence (PoAI), a consensus mechanism that attributes and rewards contributions by data providers, model developers, and agents, driving ecosystem growth. The platform establishes an economic OS where AI can act, contract, earn, and transact autonomously at Internet scale.
Who Created GoKite (KITE)?
GoKite was founded in 2023 by Chi Zhang and Scott Shi, both veterans in AI infrastructure with deep expertise from leading tech and research organizations.
Chi Zhang (Co-founder & CEO):
● Ph.D. in AI/Statistics from UC Berkeley, M.A. in Economics
● Led core data products at Databricks
● Founding product/AI role at dotData (AutoML startup)
● Former machine learning researcher at Gilead Sciences
● Active mentor with StartX, Stanford's accelerator
● Expertise: AI infrastructure, large-scale data engineering, product management, and trustless agentic systems
Scott Shi (Co-founder & CTO):
● Master's degree from UIUC
● Built and scaled real-time AI infrastructure at Uber
● Founding engineer on Salesforce Einstein AI
● Led engineering for secure data at Uber
● Co-founded RisingWave, a streaming data platform that raised $40 million
● Expertise: Distributed AI systems, protocol security, high-throughput data, and core blockchain design
The GoKite team includes professionals from Uber, Databricks, Salesforce, UC Berkeley, MIT, and Harvard, with expertise in AI product development, large-scale distributed systems, financial protocols, and strategic growth.
What VCs Back GoKite (KITE)?
GoKite has raised over $33 million across multiple funding rounds from leading venture capital firms and strategic investors.
Funding Rounds:
● Seed Round (October 2025): $15 million
● Series A (September-October 2025): $18 million led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst
● Series A Extension (October 2025): Extension led by PayPal Ventures, General Catalyst, and Coinbase Ventures, bringing total funding to over $33 million
Major Venture Capital Backers:
● PayPal Ventures (Series A lead)
● General Catalyst (Series A co-lead)
● Coinbase Ventures (joined in strategic/extension rounds)
● 8VC
● Samsung Next
● SBI Investment (Japan)
● Vertex Ventures
● Hashed
● HashKey Capital
Strategic Partnerships:
● Shopify: Enables AI agents to autonomously discover merchants, negotiate prices, and complete purchases
● Amazon: Integration for commerce and data use cases
● Avalanche: Sovereign Layer 1 chain built as Avalanche subnet for high throughput and customizable deployments
● Coinbase: Deep integration of X402 payment protocol for agent-native stablecoin payments
● LayerZero: Cross-chain communication protocol bridging GoKite with wider crypto liquidity and networks
● Chainlink: Delivers real-time external data feeds to AI agents, powers verifiable oracles and trust layers
● Story Protocol: Partnership for on-chain creative attribution and licensing
● EigenLayer: Decentralized trust and verification in agent applications
● Polygon, zkSync, Sui: Ecosystem partners for scaling, interoperability, and AI-hosting
The funding demonstrates institutional interest in agent-native and AI infrastructure, positioning GoKite as one of the best-capitalized AI blockchain infrastructure startups.
How GoKite (KITE) Works
GoKite operates as a dedicated blockchain infrastructure for AI, making it easy for developers and users to interact with autonomous agents, models, and data while ensuring every action is secure, auditable, and rewarded.
Layer 1 Blockchain Built for AI
GoKite is an independent Layer 1 blockchain built using the Avalanche subnet architecture. This sovereign network is customized for AI and agentic workloads, leveraging Avalanche for high throughput, low fees, EVM compatibility, and customizable environments. Everything is fast, cheap (near-zero fees), and built to handle the large number of transactions and micropayments that autonomous AI agents make daily.
KitePass (Agent Passport)
Every AI agent, model, or dataset gets a unique cryptographic passport. This digital ID card lets agents prove who they are, build reputation, and interact safely with other services, businesses, or humans. Agents, models, datasets, and digital services all get unique cryptographic identities through the KitePass system, enabling traceability, programmable permissions, and portable reputation.
Proof of Attributed Intelligence (PoAI)
Instead of rewarding computers for producing blocks, GoKite pays contributors based on the real value and work their agents do. If your agent solves a problem or shares good data, you get rewarded with KITE tokens. PoAI rewards AI agents, data providers, and model developers for verifiable, valuable contributions, not just block production.
X402 Protocol and Native Payments
GoKite's blockchain lets AI agents transfer stablecoins and crypto in milliseconds, paying for data, compute, or digital services instantly and cheaply, without needing human approval. The platform incorporates machine-native, instant payments (AP2/X402 protocol) optimized for high-velocity, micro-to-macro transactions between AI agents.
Agent App Store and Marketplace
A decentralized, open platform where agents, APIs, models, and datasets can be discovered, hired, and paid by other agents, apps, or users. You can set spending limits, permissions, and track everything via your KitePass. Core platform layers support programmable governance, spending limits, and direct peer-to-peer service contracting.
Customizable Subnets
Developers or enterprises can spin up specialized subnets (parallel blockchains) with unique governance or privacy rules for different AI domains, such as healthcare or trading bots. Each subnet can set unique rules and operate independently from others.
You can access the platform at gokite.ai and explore documentation at docs.gokite.ai.
GoKite Token (KITE) and Economics
The KITE token serves as the native asset powering all value transfer, staking, governance, and reward mechanisms across the GoKite AI Layer 1 blockchain.
Token Details
● Token Ticker: $KITE
● Total Supply: 10,000,000,000 tokens (10 billion)
● Initial Circulating Supply: 1,800,000,000 KITE (18% of total, at Binance launch)
● Blockchain: GoKite sovereign Layer 1 (Avalanche subnet, EVM-compatible)
● Listing & Launchpool: Binance Launchpool November 2025, multiple trading pairs (KITE/USDT, KITE/USDC)
Token Distribution
● Ecosystem & Community: 48%
● Modules (Service Providers): 20%
● Team, Advisors, Contributors: 20%
● Investors: 12%
Vesting Structure: Team and investor allocations have multi-year vesting schedules. Ecosystem and community allocations support incentives, growth funds, grants, staking rewards, and partnerships. Modules allocation rewards AI and agent modules for performance, grants for new services, and protocol-enabling infrastructure.
Token Utilities
● Payments Between Agents: Used for instant, on-chain payments between AI agents, models, data providers, and services. When one agent pays another for data or compute, KITE settles the transaction efficiently
● Staking and Network Security: Users and validators stake KITE to secure the Proof of Attributed Intelligence (PoAI) consensus. Stakers earn rewards based on contribution to network uptime, security, and effective agent/task participation
● Rewards and Attribution: Developers, data providers, and contributors earn KITE for valuable work: supplying data streams, running models, or building AI agents. Rewards are distributed algorithmically based on verified, attributed value on-chain
● Ecosystem Governance: KITE token holders vote on protocol upgrades, resource allocation, and key business decisions such as parameter changes or funding agent programs
● Transaction Fees: All network operations and agent service calls pay fees in KITE, making it the currency for blockchain-level transactions and economic activity across subnets
Why GoKite?
Traditional internet systems are human-centered and inadequate for autonomous AI agents to function as economic actors. GoKite addresses these fundamental gaps with proven technology and ecosystem support:
Proven Leadership: Founded by Chi Zhang (Ph.D. in AI/Statistics from UC Berkeley, former Databricks lead) and Scott Shi (former Uber AI infrastructure, Salesforce Einstein founding engineer, RisingWave co-founder). Team includes alumni from UC Berkeley, MIT, Harvard, Uber, Databricks, and Salesforce.
Institutional Backing: Over $33 million raised from leading investors including PayPal Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, General Catalyst, 8VC, Samsung Next, Hashed, HashKey Capital, Animoca Brands, and Avalanche Foundation.
Purpose-Built Layer 1 for AI Agents: Independent Layer 1 blockchain built using Avalanche subnet architecture, customized for AI and agentic workloads with high throughput, low fees, EVM compatibility, and customizable environments.
Cryptographic Identity System: KitePass provides portable, cryptographic identity for AI agents, enabling reputation-building, delegation, and cross-platform trust. Each AI agent, model, or dataset maintains a unique, verifiable identity.
Proof of Attributed Intelligence: Novel consensus mechanism that rewards AI agents, data providers, and model developers for verifiable, valuable contributions rather than just computational work or staking.
X402 Native Payment Protocol: One of the first L1s to fully implement X402-compatible payment primitives, enabling agents to send, receive, and reconcile standardized payment intents with sub-100ms latency and near-zero cost via state channels.
Strategic Infrastructure Partnerships: Collaborations with Shopify for autonomous commerce, Coinbase for X402 payment integration, Chainlink for data oracles, Avalanche for blockchain infrastructure, LayerZero for cross-chain communication, and Story Protocol for creative attribution.
Multi-Industry Use Cases: Supports autonomous commerce (AI agents shopping and negotiating), DeFi and trading bots (agents opening positions and staking tokens), data monetization (providers getting paid automatically), and AI API economy (developers publishing services for instant payments).
Programmable Governance: Developers can set usage limits, permissions, and rules at a granular agent level, ensuring agents operate within strict rules such as spending limits, whitelisted operations, or regulatory compliance checks.
Developer Tools: Open GitHub repository with SDKs, agent templates, smart contracts, CLI tools, APIs, and comprehensive documentation for building and deploying AI agents and services.
Active Ecosystem: Public testnet launched February 6, 2025, with testnet producing 546 million agent calls alongside 4 million registered users, demonstrating real-world traction and adoption.
GoKite combines cryptographic identity, programmable constraints, X402-native payments, and attribution-aware incentives into a single Layer 1 tailored for autonomous agents and machine commerce.
GoKite (KITE) Goes Live on Bitget
We are thrilled to announce that Kite (KITE) will be listed in the Innovation, Public Chain and AI Zone.
Trading Available: 3 November 2025, 13:00 (UTC)
Trade KITE/USDT on Bitget!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only. This article does not constitute an endorsement of any of the products and services discussed or investment, financial, or trading advice. Qualified professionals should be consulted prior to making financial decisions.
