🌵 The Intersection of Crypto & AI 🌵

Big Brain Breakdown

Market Metrics

Total Crypto Market Cap: up 1.1% to $2.49T
Total AI Sector Market Cap: down 0.2% to $28B

Top Movers (24hrs):

📈Fetch.ai (FET): up 25.5% to $1.39
📈PAAL AI (PAAL): up 24.7% to $0.246
📈Chirpley (CHIRP): up 20.5% to $0.01048

Daily News

🟠 Nosana has partnered with AlphaNeural to integrate Nosana's GPU infrastructure into AlphaNeural's decentralized AI marketplace platform built on Solana.

🟠 Aizel Network has partnered with Talus Network to provide trustless smart agents, where Aizel will provide verifiable intelligence to smart agents on-chain and off-chain through the integration with Talus, the AI Smart Agent Hub for exchanging data, models, and computational power.

🧠 Big Brain Breakdown

Welcome back to another Big Brain Breakdown. This year has been action-packed, with numerous AI projects emerging from stealth mode to announce fundraising, partnerships, and token launches.

Fundraising is a crucial indicator of a sector's momentum, and AI has certainly made a strong showing this year, particularly with the size of some of these fundraising rounds. Given the significance of fundraising, we'll walkthrough some of the most recent fundraising rounds, highlighting where investors believe the most value will be created for AI x Crypto. Without further ado, let's dive in.

Fhenix Labs raised $15 million to develop an Ethereum Layer-2

Fhenix Labs announced on June 5th that they raised $15 million in Series A funding to develop the first Layer 2 solution for Ethereum using fully homomorphic encryption (FHE), led by Hack VC, Amber Group, and others. The launch of the Fhenix testnet, Helium, allows developers to deploy confidential smart contracts that encrypt all or part of their application using FHE. This aims to address Ethereum's lack of confidentiality by enabling computation on encrypted data, enhancing data security without decryption. In essence, Fhenix will make FHE accessible on an EVM-compatible network, encouraging developers to build novel applications with robust confidentiality.

Nuffle Labs raised $13 million to advance NEAR’s modular ecosystem.

On June 13th, the NEAR Foundation announced that it has spun out and funded Nuffle Labs with $13 million to advance NEAR's modularity and promote decentralized development within the ecosystem. The funding includes a grant from the foundation and investments from Electric Capital and other venture firms. Their strategy is to integrate strengths from NEAR, Ethereum, and EigenLayer in an attempt to foster an environment that is more conducive to AI development through improved modular infrastructure.

GaiaNet raised $10M to build a network for open source LLMs and AI agents

GaiaNet has raised $10 million in a Series Seed Round EVM Fund, Mirana Ventures, and Mantle EcoFund to develop a decentralized network for open-source large language models (LLM) and AI agents, challenging centralized AI giants like Microsoft and Google. The funding will support the creation of a distributed AI infrastructure using edge nodes controlled by individuals and businesses. Each node will act as an AI agent, performing specialized tasks based on the expertise of its operator.

GaiaNet's has also partnered with UC Berkeley to address the shortage of teaching assistants in STEM courses by integrating decentralized AI teaching assistants. The project’s vision also includes enhancing privacy for AI users, reducing data bias, and fostering collaboration in AI development, positioning itself as a decentralized alternative to existing centralized AI models.

Other Notable Fundraising Rounds

• On June 12, 2024, Codatta secured $2.5 million in seed funding, led by OKX Ventures, to revolutionize data infrastructure.

• On June 12, 2024, Irys announced an $8.9 million strategic funding round led by Lemniscap, to advance onchain data storage solutions.

• On June 11, 2024, Binance Labs invested an undisclosed amount in Zircuit, a new Layer 2 network with AI-enabled sequencer-level security, to advance on-chain security and scalability through zero-knowledge rollups.

• On June 6, 2024, Glacier Network raised $8 million in angel and seed funding to advance their blockchain solutions, with key participants including ForesightX, UOB Venture Management, Laser Digital, and KuCoin Ventures.

• On May 30, 2024, ARPA Network secured a $6 million strategic investment led by Nomura's Laser Digital and DeFiance Capital to support product expansion in fully on-chain gaming, autonomous worlds, and cryptographic AI.

Fundraising data gives an indication of smart money flows, as big money checks from VCs typically only go to projects that can demonstrate strong PMF and/or solving pressing future problems. The above rounds highlight investor interest in the AI sector, particularly around secure infrastructure and tooling that enable consumer AI applications.

Recently, there has been an explosion in interest towards general-purpose modular infrastructure and fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) solutions. Now, these types of solutions are being developed specifically to be leveraged by AI, reflecting a growing focus on enhancing data security, modularity, and decentralization in AI-driven applications.

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