AWeb3VC - Funding Round Up #82

🗓️ Week of: Jul 21-27, 2024

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(See "Funding Rounds" section for the complete list of deals)

$214M+ was raised across 38 funding rounds in Web3. Despite the prospects of a slowing summer fundraising environment, deal flow continued to hold. There was some positive news on the macro front with inflation showing signs of being tamed and the ETH ETFs finally launching. This all helped broader crypto markets rally before eventually holding steady. Notwithstanding, crypto’s political clout is on the rise, becoming a frontline policy topic potentially influencing the U.S. presidential election this November.

Zooming in, what I dub “AI meets blockchain” projects witnessed another flurry of over a half dozen announced deals this week, including Ceti AI’s eight-figure funding round, covered in this edition. In general, decentralized AI projects coupled with DePIN have been one of the hottest segments pulling in investor capital throughout 2024. Also, this week highlighted the Monad ecosystem with three emerging projects announcing deals (Kuru, Kintsu, aPriori). All projects are building out DeFi infrastructure, including liquid staking protocols, to help Monad grow into the next mainstream Layer 1 network.

🏆 Largest Funding Round

➡️ ceτi AI announced $60M in strategic funding from BCII Enterprises. Ceti AI develops decentralized artificial intelligence solutions that integrate blockchain technology to enhance data privacy, security, and efficiency. Their platform focuses on creating AI applications that operate on a decentralized network, enabling users to harness the power of AI without compromising on the integrity and confidentiality of their data. By leveraging blockchain, Ceti AI aims to provide scalable and reliable AI tools that can be used across various industries to improve decision-making processes and operational workflows.

Why this matters?👉AI projects incorporating blockchain or otherwise decentralized AI infrastructure continue to be one of the hottest areas attracting investors' attention in 2024. Given the broader AI narrative driving the S&P and technology disruption, investors have substantial comparisons to draw on when looking to invest in decentralized projects. These projects offer enhanced data privacy and security, as data is processed and stored on a distributed network rather than centralized models or computing resources. This has become especially relevant in light of recent mishaps at Crowdstrike and Microsoft.

💸 Funding Rounds

Top 15 Rounds

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All Rounds

Solak - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | AI-powered web browser for exploring decentralized applications and DeFi: https://solak.app/

Etherfuse - Seed ($5.0M) | Real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform offering tokenized debt products via "stablebonds": https://etherfuse.com/

NPC Labs (aka. B3) - Seed ($21.0M) | Developer and core contributor to B3.fun, a Web3 game scaling and microservices-like Layer 3 ecosystem built on Base: https://npclabs.org/

Zircuit - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | Zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup with AI-enabled sequencer-level security: https://www.zircuit.com/

Ceti AI - Strategic ($60.0M) | Decentralized artificial intelligence enabled through energy-driven infrastructure: https://taoceti.ai/

Space Nation - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Web3 space opera massive multiplayer online and roleplaying game (MMORPG): https://spacenation.online/

Assisterr - Seed ($1.7M) | Decentralized network and AI infrastructure layer for Small Language Models (SLM): https://www.assisterr.ai/

MetaBeat - Strategic ($3.0M) | Music community platform for KPop fans and artist: https://metabeat.foundation/

Bitlayer - Series A ($11.0M) | Bitcoin security-equivalent Layer 2 based on BitVM: https://www.bitlayer.org/

RoboKiden - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Web3 multiplayer party shooter featuring colorful characters, wacky weapons, massive robots, and fast-paced battles: https://robokiden.com/

Arena Games - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Web3 game studio and play-to-earn platform: https://arenavs.com/

Pluto Studio (aka. Catizen) (fka. Cat Paradise) - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Web3 game development platform, studio, and developer of Catizen, a game for cat lovers built on the TON network: https://www.pluto.vision/#/

Igloo (aka. Pudgy Penguins) - Seed+ ($11.0M) | Creator of Web3 IP brand, Pudgy Penguins and developer of NFT-centric Layer 2 network, Abstract: https://www.pudgypenguins.com/

Network3 - Seed ($5.5M) | Layer 2 network designed to provide edge AI infrastructure: https://network3.ai/

Multipool - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Limit order decentralized exchange for real-world assets (RWA) and cryptocurrencies built on existing automated market marker protocols: https://www.multipool.finance/

DAOBase - Seed ($6.0M) | Comprehensive aggregator, search engine, and reputation layer for decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs): https://daobase.ai/

Roxom - Seed ($4.3M) | Bitcoin-priced and denominated stock, commodities, and futures exchange: https://roxom.com/

Panda Titan - Seed ($3.0M) | Metaverse game ecosystem with pandas as IP: https://x.com/PandaTitan488

Caldera - Series A ($15.0M) | A modular no-code blockchain platform which allows users to launch and run high-performance, customizable, and application-specific Layer 2 blockchains: https://caldera.xyz/

RiskLayer - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Economic security middleware for DeFi built on EigenLayer’s shared security primitives: https://www.risklayer.xyz/

Yup - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Web3 social network and open social aggregator: https://yup.io/

Dakota - Seed ($4.0M) | Crypto-native banking platform for businesses: https://dakota.xyz/

Trust3 - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Real estate tokenization platform enabling fractional ownership through Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): https://trust3.co/

Redpill (fka. Cyphermod) - Seed ($5.0M) | AI model aggregation platform enabled by tokenized LLM and model resources: https://red-pill.ai/

STIX - Seed ($1.8M) | Web3 sticker pack competition and promotion platform and spin-off project of Stickerly: https://stix.lol/

aPriori (fka. BBOX) - Seed ($8.0M) | Maximal extractable value (MEV) powered liquid staking platform for Monad: https://www.apr.io/

Hash AI - Strategic ($10.0M) | AI optimized cryptocurrency mining operator and ecosystem: https://hashai.co.uk/

OpenSocial - Strategic ($6.0M) | Open-source social infrastructure layer to power native web3 social experiences: https://www.opensocial.co/

Kintsu - Seed ($4.0M) | Liquid staking protocol built on Monad: https://kintsu.xyz/

Kuru - Seed ($2.0M) | Decentralized central limit order book (CLOB) exchange built on Monad: https://kuru.io/

Multiple Network - Seed ($2.0M) | Decentralized physical infrastructure network that leverages SD-WAN technology to high-powered transmission of digital assets & data: https://multiple.cc/

Mezo - Strategic ($7.5M) | Bitcoin Layer 2 network providing an economic layer that leverages a neutral smart contract infrastructure: https://mezo.org/

BitFi - Seed (Not Disclosed) | CeDeFi platform that combines secure staking mechanisms with on and off-chain synthetic assets: https://bitfi.org/

Turf Gaming - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Permissionless esports engine and predictions market: https://0xturf.gg/

YouSUI - Strategic ($1.0M) | Multi-chain launchpad and DeFi ecosystem built on the Sui Network: https://yousui.io/

LayerPixel - Seed ($2.0M) | TON-based DeFi platform designed for telegram: https://x.com/LayerPixel_io

OneMedNet - Private Placement ($4.6M) | Real-world data (RWD) platform for clinical data, electronic health records, laboratory results, and medical imaging enabled by blockchain: https://www.onemednet.com/

Metabit - Strategic ($10.0M) | High-performance blockchain platform integrating AI: https://metabitglobal.com/

New Funds

Galaxy Digital - Galaxy Ventures Fund I ($113.0M)

Ego Death Capital - Fund II ($43.4M)

🙌 Cool Resources

DAOBase, a comprehensive DAO aggregator and search engine

🐕 About

AWeb3VC is a source for venture funding news, emerging startups and trends across Web3. I've been closely following cryptocurrencies and digital assets since 2013 and started working in the space since 2018. Now I'm on a mission to build the most extensive venture ecosystem for BUIDLERS in Web3, starting first by tracking those BUIDLERS.