Funding Wrap: Decentralized AI is all the craze

Institutional wallets and better user interfaces for big corporations remain a priority for some startups

March 10, 2024 10:00 am

PickPik modified by Blockworks

Artificial intelligence decentralized GPU network io.net posted on X that it had secured $30 million from investors, including Hack VC, Multicoin, 6th Man Ventures and OKX Ventures.

IO Research, the team behind io.net, noted that the network is designed to enable users to redistribute unused GPUs to power resource-intensive AI companies.

This latest funding round shows that there has been a growing interest in AI-driven innovation, especially in the realm of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

Newsletter

Subscribe to The Breakdown

Other AI-related blockchain companies that have received interest from investors as of late include Ritual, which raised $25 million in seed funding to offer Web3 companies on-chain proof of interactions using AI models, and Sahara, a decentralized AI network that raised $6 million in a recent seed round.

According to Sahara, Polychain Capital led its funding round, which included participation from prominent venture capital firms, including Sequoia, Matrix Partners and DAO Five.

Utila raises $11.5M for enterprise crypto wallet

Enterprise crypto wallet Utila has secured $11.5 million in a seed round led by NFX, Wing VC, Framework Ventures and a handful of angel investors.

Utila’s goal is to make enterprise crypto wallets more user-friendly and accessible for customers.

“We are setting a new standard for institutional cryptocurrency wallets, delivering a sophisticated yet user-friendly platform that ensures the highest level of security and efficiency for managing digital assets,” Bentzi Rabi, co-founder and CEO of Utila, wrote in a blog post.

Other notable fundraises

Payments app Baanx raised $20 million in a Series A co-led by Tezos, Chiron and British Business Bank.
Zama secured $73 million in a Series A funding led by Protocol Labs and Multicoin Capital to bring FHE technology to life.

Updated March 11, 2024 at 1 pm ET: Removed one listing from “notable fundraises” section.

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.

Tags

Newsletter

The Breakdown

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Digital Asset Summit 2026

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 24 - 26, 2026

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

buy tickets learn more

recent research

Research

ERC 8004: Introducing Trust for AI Agents

ERC 8004 introduces a new trust layer for AI agents by standardizing onchain identity, reputation, and validation. As agents begin handling capital and coordinating autonomously, trust becomes the key constraint to broader adoption. The rollout mirrors the early x402 narrative, where adoption lagged the initial launch until major integrations and a viral use case pulled attention into the ecosystem. If ERC 8004 follows a similar path, downstream infrastructure tied to the standard could see outsized benefit as the narrative gains traction. The primary beneficiaries are likely to be agent frameworks and launchpads at the distribution layer, agent to agent coordination platforms that enable delegation and payments, and validation providers that offer stronger security and execution guarantees.

by Kunal Doshi