Funding Weekly: 27 deals raised approximately $162 million, with AI and DeFi sectors attracting the most attention
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Funding Weekly: 27 deals raised approximately $162 million, with AI and DeFi sectors attracting the most attention
Between January 8 and January 14, five blockchain projects raised over $5 million.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsBy TechFlow
According to RootData, between January 8 and January 14, 27 blockchain startups announced fundraising totaling approximately $162 million.
Projects raising over $5 million include:
Skyark Studio, developer of AAA game SkyArk Chronicles, raised $15 million;
Pontem, Aptos ecosystem wallet Pontem, raised $6 million;
Bitcoin Layer 2 project Bitfinity Network raised $7 million;
Cryptocurrency app store Magic Square raised $22 million through an IDO;
ArenaX Labs, developer of AI game AI Arena, raised $6 million;
Featured Projects
Orbiter Finance
Overview: Orbiter Finance is a decentralized bridging solution focused on cross-rollup transfers on Ethereum. Based on a "pre-trust + dispute arbitration" model, it leverages Ethereum's native security to enable asset transfers across multiple Ethereum networks. Through a unique market-maker model, Orbiter offers low fees and fast transaction speeds, currently supporting transfers of ETH, USDC, USDT, and DAI.
Investors: Cross-chain bridge Orbiter Finance announced completion of its Series A round in 2023, led by OKX Ventures, with participation from Redpoint China, Hash Global, Skyland Ventures, Mask Network, Bas1s Ventures, Zonff Partners, and others.
Features:
1. In Orbiter Finance, the Sender initiates the cross-chain transfer request, while the Maker provides liquidity and ensures security. Makers must deposit collateral and set fee rules before providing services. If a Maker behaves maliciously, the Sender can initiate an arbitration request and receive overcompensation.
2. Orbiter Finance received a cross-rollup grant from Vitalik via Gitcoin, specifically 16 ETH.
3. Orbiter Finance plans to launch its native token within the year, gradually disclosing its tokenomics and distribution plan to ensure fairness. The O-Points program will play a key role in shaping airdrop rules.
AI ARENA
Overview: AI Arena is a PvP fighting game where players train AI-powered characters that continuously evolve. The gameplay resembles Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. The goal is to create a two-sided AI marketplace connecting buyers and sellers.
Investors: ArenaX Labs, developer of AI game AI Arena, raised $6 million in a round led by Framework Ventures, with participation from SevenX Ventures, FunPlus/Xterio, and Moore Strategic Ventures.
Features:
1. AI Arena recently announced the establishment of the CortX Foundation and revealed NRN tokenomics, planning its first NRN airdrop distributing 80 million tokens (8%) to the AI Arena community—40 million for the upcoming P2A competition and 40 million for NRN reward boxes.
2. AI Arena combines gaming, NFTs (IP), and AI algorithms to deliver a novel gaming experience while protecting intellectual property rights for AI creators and enabling tokenization.
3. AI Arena’s economic flywheel is driven jointly by tokens and NFTs. The current floor price for its Mint Pass NFT is 3.75 ETH.
SkyArk Chronicles
Overview: SkyArk Chronicles is a Triple-A fantasy JRPG game featuring interoperable NFTs. It is a trilogy composed of two GameFi games (House of Heroes and Legends Arise) and one SocialFi metaverse ("Mirrorverse").
Investors: Skyark Studio, developer of AAA game SkyArk Chronicles, raised $15 million in funding led by Binance Labs, with over 40 institutions including VividThree, Guildfi, Jambo, and Breederdao participating. Individual investors such as LayerZero CEO Brian Pelligrino, Tangent Ventures Co-Founder Wangarian, and Story Protocol CEO Lee Seung Yoon also joined.
Features:
1. Game points can be redeemed for SAC tokens;
2. SkyArk will soon launch its first NFT on Ethereum, with details to be announced;
3. Selected into Binance Incubation Program Season 3 and backed by Binance Labs, SkyArk has also partnered with notable projects and teams including Disney, Astar, Sony Network Communications (SNC), LayerZero, BNB Chain, and WXYZStudio.
Below are detailed funding announcements by sector:
Bitcoin Ecosystem
Bitcoin Layer 2 project Bitfinity raised $7 million, with participation from Polychain Capital, ParaFi Capital, Warburg Serres, Dokia Capital, and Draft Ventures. Built on the Internet Computer Protocol, Bitfinity is a Bitcoin scaling network enabling Ethereum developers to build Bitcoin-enabled dApps on its platform. Currently in testnet phase, Bitfinity plans to launch its mainnet later this month or in early February.
LK Venture, a crypto investment and research firm affiliated with Hong Kong-listed Bluehole Interactive, announced a strategic investment in Bitcoin L2 infrastructure MAP Protocol via its BTC NEXT fund dedicated to the Bitcoin ecosystem.
DeFi
On-chain aggregation protocol Rocket3 will conduct its first community fundraising round on January 8, 2024, at 21:00 (UTC+8), aiming to support multi-chain development and marketing efforts. Rocket3 helps users save up to 80% in gas fees by aggregating on-chain interactions across Ethereum and other networks. Previously, Rocket3 raised $1.2 million in a Pre-seed round co-led by SOSV and Bex Venture, along with three other institutions.
Solana-based DeFi platform Saros completed a $3.75 million private sale round, with participation from Solana Ventures, Hashed, Spartan, Arche Fund, GBV, Assym, IF, Genblock, K300, Cryptomind, Kyros, Evernew, and other industry leaders. The funds will support Saros’ expansion and super-app development.
Customizable and interoperable data infrastructure provider Entangle announced the completion of a $4 million seed and private round, with participation from MH Ventures, Big Brain Holdings, Launch Code Capital, LBank Labs, Skynet EGLD Capital, Cogitent Ventures, Owl Ventures, Faculty Group, Seier Capital, 1NVST, Sharding Capital, Agnostic Fund, and others. Entangle’s core offering is a customizable infrastructure enabling builders to create secure, transparent data pathways and customized systems to enhance control over cross-chain operations, revolutionizing blockchain communication through fully customizable data delivery.
Decentralized risk hedging strategy management firm Umoja raised $2 million, with participation from Quantstamp, Blockchain Founders Fund, Orange DAO, Hyperithm, Psalion, Blizzard (Avalanche), and others. Founded by Robby Greenfield, former head of social impact at ConsenSys, Umoja currently focuses on the cryptocurrency space but plans to expand its decentralized hedging model to digital bonds, real estate, commodities, and other digital assets.
DeFi lending protocol Altitude announced a $6.1 million seed round, with participation from Tioga Capital, New Form Capital, Flow Ventures, UDHC, GSR, Owl Ventures, and others. Borrowers must lock up crypto collateral exceeding the loan value due to lack of credit history and registration.
L2 cross-chain bridge Orbiter Finance announced completion of its Series A round in 2023, led by OKX Ventures, with participation from Redpoint China, Hash Global, Skyland Ventures, Mask Network, Bas1s Ventures, Zonff Partners, and others. Orbiter Finance plans to launch its native token this year and will gradually disclose its tokenomics and distribution plan to ensure fairness. The O-Points program will play a significant role in defining airdrop rules.
Permissionless leverage trading platform Particle announced completion of its seed round, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Nascent, Inflection, Neon DAO, Naveen Jain, Arthur Hayes, DCF God, Sam Williams, Kalos, Richard Ma, Palmer, vxCozy, and others. The exact amount was not disclosed. Particle is developing a Leverage AMM (LAMM) protocol with a revolutionary architecture enabling risk-free, oracle-free, and non-liquidatable leveraged trading for any token. The project is currently in Alpha testing, co-developed with the community, ending on January 19, 2024.
RWA commercial lending protocol Kasu completed a $3 million seed round, led by Woodstock, Morningstar Ventures, and Faculty Group, with participation from Cypher Capital, Matterblock, Andromeda Capital, NxGen, Rarestone Ventures, Asteroid Capital, and Optic Capital. The new funding will advance Kasu’s innovative platform, which aims to redefine today’s RWA lending “standards” using proprietary technology, optimize corporate cash flow, reduce credit risk, and ultimately deliver superior risk management and returns.
NFT
NFT liquidity solution and gamified marketplace Eesee announced $2.85 million in funding, comprising a $1.1 million seed round and a $1.75 million private round. Investors include SevenX Ventures, Maven Capital, MetaBros, Contango Digital Assets, BasementDAO, and partnerships with Ape Terminal, ApeCoin, Polygon, and Chainlink.
GameFi
Skyark Studio, developer of AAA game SkyArk Chronicles, announced a $15 million raise led by Binance Labs, with over 40 institutions including VividThree, a Singapore-listed company, Guildfi, Jambo, and Breederdao participating, alongside individual investors such as LayerZero CEO Brian Pelligrino, Tangent Ventures Co-Founder Wangarian, and Story Protocol CEO Lee Seung Yoon. Skyark will soon launch its first NFT on Ethereum, with details forthcoming.
ArenaX Labs, developer of AI game AI Arena, announced a $6 million raise led by Framework Ventures, with participation from SevenX Ventures, FunPlus/Xterio, and Moore Strategic Ventures. Funds will be used to develop the PvP fighting platform. AI Arena allows users to train their own AI characters for combat, with outcomes depending on training skill, aiming to help users understand how AI works and learns.
AI
TrendX, an AI-driven Web3 trend-tracking and smart trading platform TrendX, announced a $1 million seed round, with participation from Foster Labs, Web3Link, Coresky, Tripod Capital, CatcherVC, and MIIX Capital. TrendX will gradually roll out its Launchpad and leading-edge AI trading features—including spot aggregation, cross-chain aggregation, and an AI trading assistant—in the first half of 2024. It will also offer exclusive intelligent position management services around trading. More information on the official platform token and listing plans will be revealed in the coming months.
AI data marketplace Ta-da raised $3.5 million, funded by Morningstar Ventures, Layer-1 blockchain MultiversX, GBV Capital, XVentures, NxGen, and Spark Digital Capital. According to the team, Ta-da follows a "gamified Web3" application model, conceived by Vivoka, a successful startup specializing in voice recognition solutions.
Decentralized cloud service provider OORT announced a new funding round, bringing its total raised to nearly $10 million. Investors include Taisu Ventures (Cardano’s venture arm, formerly Emurgo), Red Beard Ventures, Hike Ventures, Optic Capital, and tech giants Microsoft and Google. This round brings capital, resources, and expertise to support OORT’s Q1 2024 token listing and product development. OORT is a high-privacy, low-cost decentralized cloud platform that aggregates global computing and storage resources via blockchain, offering end-to-end AI solutions from infrastructure to platform services. Its flagship products include OORT AI (generative AI assistant builder), OORT Storage (decentralized storage), and OORT Compute (decentralized computing).
AI-generated content protection platform Ringfence announced a $1.5 million seed round, with participation from Rarestone Capital, Morningstar Ventures, Spark Digital Capital, Curiosity Capital, and Noir Ventures. Ringfence supports creators in the rapidly growing Web3 and generative AI spaces by providing infrastructure to securely store, protect, and monetize various media types—including photos, images, videos, documents, and music. Ringfence also enables minting AIGC on any EVM-compatible blockchain using LayerZero’s OFT standard.
DePIN
Move-based blockchain Sui has formed a strategic partnership with Karrier One, with Sui investing in Karrier One to expand its decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) technology. Karrier One will launch a decentralized wireless (DeWi) network token on Sui and integrate zkLogin into its Karrier Number System (KNS), allowing users to transact in Web3 using phone numbers. Contributors and participants in the Karrier One ecosystem will earn DeWi tokens through various activities.
Infrastructure
OKX Ventures announced an investment in Polyhedra Network. Polyhedra Network is a next-generation, ZKP-based full-stack Web3 interoperability infrastructure that designed and implemented the zkBridge protocol, providing trustless and efficient cross-chain infrastructure for Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains. Additionally, Polyhedra Network has launched zkBridge Mainnet Alpha, a distributed proof system called deVirgo, and a Bitcoin interoperability protocol based on zkBridge.
OKX Ventures today announced it has led a funding round in BeWater. BeWater is a Web3 venture studio and global developer platform that facilitates open innovation events and hackathons, enabling rapid development within just 10 minutes.
Aptos ecosystem wallet Pontem raised $6 million in a round led by Faction and Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Pantera Capital, Aptos Foundation, Wintermute, Altonomy, Shima Capital, and Kraken Ventures. Pontem plans to use the funds to enable developers to build applications compatible with both the Ethereum Virtual Machine and Move, expanding the use of the Move programming language beyond the Aptos and Sui blockchains.
Others
Crypto miner Argo Blockchain tweeted that it has completed a placement of 38 million shares, raising £8 million (~$10 million), to be used for working capital, debt repayment, and other corporate purposes.
Bitcoin mining firm Core Scientific announced completion of a $55 million equity subscription, oversubscribed, reflecting strong shareholder confidence. Due to the ERO cap of $55 million, oversubscriptions will be allocated proportionally. After the subscription period, the company no longer requires pre-arranged ERO backup funding. This successful raise marks a key milestone in the company’s recovery and relisting plans.
Crypto custody and staking provider Finoa announced a $15 million raise, led by Maven 11 Capital and Balderton Capital, with participation from Blue Bay Ventures, Signature Ventures, Coparion, and Venture Stars. Staking now accounts for nearly 60% of Finoa’s total revenue, supporting over 10 blockchains and ranking as the third-largest validator on modular blockchain Celestia.
Cryptocurrency app store Magic Square raised $22 million through an IDO.
Web3 digital bank Fizen announced completion of a $480,000 token seed round, led by SotaTek, TomoChain, and VNEXT Holdings, to build a premier crypto super-app for buying, selling, holding, and spending cryptocurrencies.
CoinShares announced it has exercised its option to acquire Valkyrie. CoinShares made this decision due to positive developments in the U.S. regulatory environment and its strategic goal to expand digital asset offerings in the U.S. market. Upon completion, the acquisition is expected to add approximately $110 million to CoinShares’ existing AUM, equivalent to Valkyrie’s current ETF AUM.
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