“Can a PSP-agnostic token vault become the universal payment identity layer for both human and AI agent-driven commerce?”
Founded in 2020 as a PCI-compliant tokenization vault for fintechs and merchants, Basis Theory initially focused on removing compliance burden by storing card data outside client infrastructure. Over 2023–2024 the company evolved into a multi-PSP routing and optimization layer — letting merchants tokenize once and route to any processor (Stripe, Adyen, Checkout.com) based on real-time intelligence. By 2026 the company extended the platform toward 'agentic commerce,' positioning the token vault as the identity and payment credential layer for AI agent-driven purchase flows.
Basis Theory processes payments through Stripe, Adyen, Checkout.com and checkout.
Basis Theory is founded in 2020 and headquartered in Mill Valley, CA, USA.
Basis Theory has raised 33M+ (Series B alone) in total (latest round: Series B, October 2025).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Basis Theory and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.