diff --git a/autopilot/agent.go b/autopilot/agent.go
index af119f06..1f7f56d4 100644
--- a/autopilot/agent.go
+++ b/autopilot/agent.go
@@ -41,6 +41,12 @@ type Config struct {
 	// within the graph.
 	Graph ChannelGraph
 
+	// MaxPendingOpens is the maximum number of pending channel
+	// establishment goroutines that can be lingering. We cap this value in
+	// order to control the level of parallelism caused by the autopiloit
+	// agent.
+	MaxPendingOpens uint16
+
 	// TODO(roasbeef): add additional signals from fee rates and revenue of
 	// currently opened channels
 }
@@ -410,6 +416,21 @@ func (a *Agent) controller(startingBalance btcutil.Amount) {
 			// top of our controller loop.
 			pendingMtx.Lock()
 			for _, chanCandidate := range chanCandidates {
+				// Before we proceed, we'll check to see if
+				// this attempt would take us past the total
+				// number of allowed pending opens. If so, then
+				// we'll skip this round and wait for an
+				// attempt to either fail or succeed.
+				if uint16(len(pendingOpens))+1 >
+					a.cfg.MaxPendingOpens {
+
+					log.Debugf("Reached cap of %v pending "+
+						"channel opens, will retry "+
+						"after success/failure",
+						a.cfg.MaxPendingOpens)
+					continue
+				}
+
 				nID := NewNodeID(chanCandidate.PeerKey)
 				pendingOpens[nID] = Channel{
 					Capacity: chanCandidate.ChanAmt,
@@ -417,6 +438,7 @@ func (a *Agent) controller(startingBalance btcutil.Amount) {
 				}
 
 				go func(directive AttachmentDirective) {
+
 					pub := directive.PeerKey
 					err := a.cfg.ChanController.OpenChannel(
 
diff --git a/autopilot/agent_test.go b/autopilot/agent_test.go
index d8a3d57e..ebc15bf9 100644
--- a/autopilot/agent_test.go
+++ b/autopilot/agent_test.go
@@ -138,7 +138,8 @@ func TestAgentChannelOpenSignal(t *testing.T) {
 		WalletBalance: func() (btcutil.Amount, error) {
 			return 0, nil
 		},
-		Graph: memGraph,
+		Graph:           memGraph,
+		MaxPendingOpens: 10,
 	}
 	initialChans := []Channel{}
 	agent, err := New(testCfg, initialChans)
@@ -271,7 +272,8 @@ func TestAgentChannelFailureSignal(t *testing.T) {
 		WalletBalance: func() (btcutil.Amount, error) {
 			return 0, nil
 		},
-		Graph: memGraph,
+		Graph:           memGraph,
+		MaxPendingOpens: 10,
 	}
 
 	initialChans := []Channel{}
@@ -360,7 +362,8 @@ func TestAgentChannelCloseSignal(t *testing.T) {
 		WalletBalance: func() (btcutil.Amount, error) {
 			return 0, nil
 		},
-		Graph: memGraph,
+		Graph:           memGraph,
+		MaxPendingOpens: 10,
 	}
 
 	// We'll start the agent with two channels already being active.
@@ -483,7 +486,8 @@ func TestAgentBalanceUpdate(t *testing.T) {
 		WalletBalance: func() (btcutil.Amount, error) {
 			return walletBalance, nil
 		},
-		Graph: memGraph,
+		Graph:           memGraph,
+		MaxPendingOpens: 10,
 	}
 	initialChans := []Channel{}
 	agent, err := New(testCfg, initialChans)
@@ -530,7 +534,7 @@ func TestAgentBalanceUpdate(t *testing.T) {
 		case heuristic.moreChansResps <- moreChansResp{false, 0, 0}:
 			// At this point, the local state of the agent should
 			// have also been updated to reflect that the LN node
-			// now has an additional  5BTC available.
+			// now has an additional 5BTC available.
 			const expectedAmt = walletBalance + balanceDelta
 			if agent.totalBalance != expectedAmt {
 				t.Fatalf("expected %v wallet balance "+
@@ -598,7 +602,8 @@ func TestAgentImmediateAttach(t *testing.T) {
 		WalletBalance: func() (btcutil.Amount, error) {
 			return walletBalance, nil
 		},
-		Graph: memGraph,
+		Graph:           memGraph,
+		MaxPendingOpens: 10,
 	}
 	initialChans := []Channel{}
 	agent, err := New(testCfg, initialChans)
@@ -732,7 +737,8 @@ func TestAgentPendingChannelState(t *testing.T) {
 		WalletBalance: func() (btcutil.Amount, error) {
 			return walletBalance, nil
 		},
-		Graph: memGraph,
+		Graph:           memGraph,
+		MaxPendingOpens: 10,
 	}
 	initialChans := []Channel{}
 	agent, err := New(testCfg, initialChans)