Side by side
Manteca vs Sponge
Manteca and Sponge both operate in the Payments & Fintech part of the Tempo ecosystem. Manteca — All-in-one API: payments, crypto, FX, brokerage.. Sponge — Infrastructure for AI agents to hold and spend money..
Mantecaactive
All-in-one API: payments, crypto, FX, brokerage.
- What it is
- Financial-infrastructure API provider for Latin America, bundling crypto and local payment rails into a unified API.
- Role on Tempo
- Ramp partner that converts crypto/stablecoins to fiat and settles via local Latin American payment rails (off-ramp flows).
- Core products
- Suite of financial APIs including crypto, brokerage, payments (QR), and bill payment.
Spongeactive
Infrastructure for AI agents to hold and spend money.
- Products
- Sponge Wallet for AI agent accounts and Sponge Gateway for businesses to sell directly to agents.
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California.
- Company Status
- Founded in 2026 and participated in the Y Combinator Winter 2026 batch.
- Founders
- Jae Choi, Eric Zhang, and Rishab Luthra (former Stripe engineers).
The record
How they compare
| Field | Manteca | Sponge |
|---|---|---|
| Type | payments app | payments app |
| Category | Payments & Fintech | Payments & Fintech |
| Status | active | active |
| Chains | — | — |
| Website | Yes | Yes |
| Docs | — | — |
| GitHub | — | — |
| Confidence | 81% | 93% |
| Sources | 3 | 4 |
Read on
Answers
Manteca vs Sponge: questions
- What is the difference between Manteca and Sponge on Tempo?
- Manteca is All-in-one API: payments, crypto, FX, brokerage.. Sponge is Infrastructure for AI agents to hold and spend money.. Both sit in the Payments & Fintech part of the Tempo ecosystem.
- Is Manteca or Sponge live on Tempo?
- Neither is confirmed on Tempo mainnet yet — Manteca is active and Sponge is active. Status is tracked from primary sources.
- Should I choose Manteca or Sponge?
- It depends on your use case — both serve the Payments & Fintech role on Tempo. Compare them on type, status, chains, integrations and source-backed confidence (Manteca: 81%, Sponge: 93%), then read each full profile before deciding.