Cincinnati-backed Kernel raises $22M for powering AI’s new “browser layer”

Kernel, a fast-growing infrastructure company, announced a $22 million Seed and Series A raise led by Accel, with participation from Y Combinator, Cintrifuse Capital, Refinery Ventures, Vercel Ventures, and SV Angel, plus a lineup of well-known angel investors including Paul Graham (Y Combinator), Solomon Hykes (Docker), and David Cramer (Sentry).

The company is building what it calls “browsers-as-a-service,” enabling AI agents to interact with the internet like human users — opening tabs, clicking links, logging in, and securely performing tasks on behalf of people.

Why it matters

The round underscores Ohio’s expanding footprint in foundational AI infrastructure, not just applications or use cases.

• Cintrifuse Capital and Refinery Ventures, both based in Cincinnati, are increasingly visible players in national venture syndicates, bringing Midwest capital and networks into high-growth AI deals.
• For Ohio, it’s another example of local investors helping fund the “picks and shovels” of the AI era — tools that make intelligent systems practical, secure, and scalable.
• Kernel’s co-founder is Cincinnati-based Rafael Garcia.

The details

Kernel’s technology allows developers to spin up cloud browsers in milliseconds, maintain session state, and build agents that handle sensitive credentials — effectively giving AI systems a way to browse and interact with the web safely.

The platform already supports production workloads for Cash App, Rye, and numerous YC-backed startups.

The new funding will accelerate:

• Launch of Kernel Agent Authentication, an identity and permissions layer for secure AI agent actions.
• Broader support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) so LLMs can treat browsers like any other tool call.
• Partnerships that let websites opt in and define how AI agents interact with their pages.

“Our Seed and Series A gives us the resources to accelerate our product roadmap and support our customers’ scaling needs,” wrote Catherine Jue, co-founder of CEO of Kernel on the announcement.

The big picture

Ohio’s role in the AI economy is evolving from adoption to architecture. With homegrown funds like Cintrifuse and Refinery investing in the infrastructure stack — alongside data-center expansions from companies like Meta, Google, and the OpenAI / SoftBank / Oracle’s “Stargate” project in Lordstown — the state is positioning itself as a hub for AI infrastructure investment and engineering talent.