Orthogonal

Orthogonal is attacking a real infrastructure gap — API authentication and billing are genuinely painful for agentic workflows, and both founders have directly relevant experience (Coinbase payments + Google APIs). The product is live with 20+ API partners already integrated, which is meaningful traction for a 5-month-old company. The primary risk is platform dependency: if Anthropic, OpenAI, or major agent frameworks build native tool marketplaces, Orthogonal's distribution moat erodes fast. The payments layer is the defensible wedge — if they can lock in billing relationships before the big platforms commoditize discovery, they have a real business. Watch for revenue metrics and whether API providers are actually routing meaningful volume through the platform.