Infra, AI stack up $159m in shaky market

Crypto fundraising remained resilient from June 15 to June 21, with 18 initiatives securing a mixed $159.5 million regardless of broader market volatility.

The week was dominated by infrastructure and AI-focused ventures, with EigenLayer main the pack by a $70 million spherical backed by a16z crypto—bringing its complete funding to $234.5 million. Different notable raises included PrismaX, Sparkchain AI, Gradient Community, Ubyx, and Items Community, every attracting $10 million or extra from outstanding traders like Pantera, Lightspeed, Galaxy Digital, and Coinbase Ventures.

The exercise alerts continued confidence in foundational crypto applied sciences and AI convergence, whilst deal sizes focus round fewer, well-backed initiatives.

Right here’s an in depth examination of this week’s crypto funding exercise, in response to the web site Crypto Fundraising:

EigenLayer (EigenCloud, Eigen Labs)

• The digital belongings arm of enterprise capital agency Andreessen Horowitz, a16z, deepened its funding in EigenLayer with a brand new $70 million token acquisition.
• The transfer coincides with the launch of the Ethereum restaking protocol’s developer platform, EigenCloud. It additionally builds on the $100 million funding a16z made in Eigen Labs’ Collection B funding spherical in February 2024.
• EigenLayer (EIGEN) has raised $234.5 million thus far.

PrismaX

• PrismaX secured $11 million in a funding spherical led by a16z CSX, with participation from Builder Fund, Symbolic, Volt Capital, Virtuals Protocol, and several other angel traders.
• The corporate formally launched throughout CSX’s Demo Day on June 3, showcasing its robotic intelligence platform, which goals to advance bodily generative AI.
• Bayley Wang and Chyna Qu co-founded PrismaX, Which focuses on creating foundational fashions that mix robotics and decentralized know-how to energy next-gen bodily AI techniques.

Sparkchain AI

• SparkChain AI raised $10.8 million in a strategic spherical led by OakStone Ventures to scale its decentralized AI compute community and put together for its upcoming launch on Solana.
• The funding will help real-time AI optimization, infrastructure enlargement, and key partnerships, positioning SparkChain as a core layer for Web3 and DePIN (Decentralized Bodily Infrastructure) ecosystems.
• The increase displays rising institutional curiosity in decentralized AI infrastructure, amid rising demand for options to centralized cloud options and elevated concentrate on edge computing, modular blockchains, and information sovereignty.

Gradient Community

• Pantera Capital and Multicoin Capital led a $10 million seed spherical for Gradient Community. HSG and top-tier angel traders throughout AI and crypto supplied further backing.
• The startup is constructing decentralized AI infrastructure for open-source intelligence, aiming to drive transparency and innovation in the AI house.
• Gradient additionally unveiled a refreshed model id, reinforcing its dedication to decentralization, transparency, and its long-term imaginative and prescient for the way forward for AI.