Decentralized artificial intelligence protocol Swarm Network raised a total of $13 million to build an AI verification protocol.
According to a Wednesday announcement shared with Cointelegraph, $10 million of the raised funds was secured through the protocol’s licenses to operate agents. A project spokesperson told Cointelegraph that each license is a non-fungible token (NFT) that allows its holder to obtain daily rewards for operating agents and maintaining the network.
The remaining funds comprise a $3 million strategic investment from investors, including Sui (SUI), Ghaf Capital, Brinc, Y2Z and Zerostage. The investments by Sui, Ghaf and Brinc were secured by Swarm’s participation in SuiHub’s Dubai-based global accelerator.
Swarm Network is building a decentralized protocol that attempts to turn offchain data into verifiable onchain information. The system has seen an early adopter in the AI-powered fact-checking solution Rollup News, where 128,000 users have reportedly verified over 3 million posts to date.
Related: Trading bots vs AI agents: everything you need to know
Crypto-AI marriage attracts attention
Blockchain technology and digital assets are increasingly paired with artificial intelligence technology, attracting significant investor interest. Numerai, an AI-driven hedge fund backed by Paul Tudor Jones, recently secured a commitment of up to $500 million from JPMorgan Asset Management.
Earlier this month, crypto exchange Kraken acquired Israel-based startup Capitalise.ai, a no-code trading automation platform that turns natural-language commands into executable strategies. Some firms abandon crypto for AI altogether, with cryptocurrency miner TeraWulf pivoting into AI infrastructure hosting in mid-August.
Related: The future of digital self-governance: AI agents in crypto
The rise of crypto AI agents
AI agents, a term referring to AI bots that have access to tools and can act independently to achieve their objectives, are gaining significant traction in the crypto space. Earlier this month, Coinbase development team members Kevin Leffew and Lincoln Murr went as far as to say that AI agents may become Ethereum’s “biggest power user.”
The statements followed anticipation after late 2024, when industry executives told Cointelegraph that AI agents would gain significant traction this year. Predictions at the time included that such agents would take on a more prominent role within decentralized communities and that decentralization would make AI more trustworthy.
Magazine: Train AI agents to make better predictions… for token rewards
