- Bittensor builder bags big round.
- A16z backs another crypto-AI project.
Seven crypto startups raised a combined $92 million this week, according to data compiled by DefiLlama.
This brings the total crypto startup funding in 2025 to $11.1 billion, which is already 60% of Pitchbook’s $18 billion prediction for this year.
VCs are spreading bets across the board, but one theme dominated this week: artificial intelligence.
Half of the week’s biggest raises went to firms building at the intersection of crypto and AI.
From decentralised AI networks to training data engines for robots, AI-focused projects hauled in over 60% of this week’s funding rounds.
Below are the three biggest rounds of the week:
xTAO, $22.8 million
The biggest winner of the week is xTAO, a Cayman Islands-domiciled company building infrastructure for Bittensor.
Bittensor is a fledgling project taking on the centrally controlled artificial intelligence behemoths such as OpenAI and Google.
“It was like when I first found Bitcoin and saw the problem that it was trying to solve,” Samaroo previously told DL News.
Bittensor is “the best shot on goal that we have for decentralised AI.”
The company raised $22.8 million in a round backed by Digital Currency Group, Animoca Brands, Arca, Borderless Capital, and FalconX.
Soluna, $20 million
Soluna, a green data centre operator that powers Bitcoin mining and AI workloads with stranded renewable energy, has raised $20 million in new funding.
The publicly listed firm — ticker SLNH on Nasdaq — says it will use the capital to expand its software platform and launch new facilities at renewable energy sites.
The round was led by Spring Lane Capital.
Soluna has earmarked the money to expand its footprint in Texas, a Bitcoin and AI mining hub.
Poseidon, $15 million
A16z crypto made its latest bet on AI-meets-Web3 with a $15 million seed round into Poseidon.
Built on the Story Protocol, Poseidon is designing a decentralised data layer for training physical AI systems — think robotics and autonomous vehicles.
The goal? Curate and license IP-cleared training data through crypto-native incentives and infrastructure.
Poseidon “seeks to establish a new economic foundation for the internet,” Chris Dixon, managing partner at venture capital firm a16z, said on X on July 22.
An internet “where data creators get fairly compensated for helping AI companies power the next generation of intelligent systems.”
You’re reading the latest installment of The Weekly Raise, our column covering fundraising deals across the crypto and DeFi spaces, powered by DefiLlama.
Pedro Solimano is DL News’ Buenos Aires-based markets correspondent. Got at a tip? Email him at psolimano@dlnews.com.
