London-based startup Paid, founded by Manny Medina, has raised $21.6 million in a seed round led by Lightspeed, with total funding reaching $33.3 million and a valuation over $100 million.

Paid specializes in results-based billing for AI agents, allowing providers to monetize their services by charging based on the value or cost savings they deliver, rather than traditional usage fees.

Paid's innovative approach avoids direct AI agent provision, instead enabling creators to monetize agents' contributions through results-based billing that aligns payment with measurable value.

This billing infrastructure incentivizes meaningful work by AI agents, rewarding only when they deliver tangible results, addressing the common issue of underperforming AI projects.

Early customers like sales automation startup Artisan and ERP vendor IFS demonstrate initial success and growing interest among SaaS companies in adopting AI agent models.

Recent funding highlights investor confidence in AI infrastructure companies that facilitate monetization and cost management for AI applications.

A recent MIT study found that 95% of enterprise AI pilots produce no value, making it difficult for companies to justify payments for unproven AI outputs, which Paid aims to solve.

Traditional SaaS models struggle with AI because agents often work in the background or unnoticed, making it hard to measure and charge for their contributions.

Lightspeed's Alexander Schmitt notes that most AI pilots fail due to difficulty in attaching concrete value, and considers Paid’s approach to be unique in the market.

Paid’s results-based billing helps differentiate successful AI solutions from unproductive ones, promoting efficiency and tangible benefits like cost savings or productivity gains.

The company’s model helps AI agent providers monetize their services and track costs effectively, addressing a key challenge in the industry.

Funding participation from new investor FUSE and existing investor EQT Ventures underscores confidence in Paid’s innovative billing approach for AI agents.

This story is part of a broader conversation on AI’s growth, monetization strategies, and the intersection of technology and media industries, often discussed in popular tech podcasts.