The Web3 + AI Daily #20
On the agenda: gamified decentralized AI training, trustless AI research, and the emerging AgentFi.
Hello, everyone!
This is The Web3 + AI Daily, your definitive guide into the world of Decentralized AI (DeAI)! Today's edition covers major funding rounds, along with introducing cryptographic trust to AI scientific research and bringing intelligent agents on chain.
Thank you for being here! Let’s dive in.
What’s Hot in Web3 + AI?
Gensyn Reveals BlockAssist: Gameplay-Based AI Training
The decentralized AI training firm Gensyn introduced BlockAssist, an open-source framework for training AI assistants through playing Minecraft. It’s based on Assistance Learning, a new AI training technique that relies on human action rather than human labelling or reward functions. BlockAssist is a groundbreaking application that learns from real user behavior in a decentralized, scalable way, offering a fresh, human‑centered approach to training AI agents.
Web3 + AI Partnerships & Collaborations
Lagrange and Hetu Partner to Make AI Research Trustless
Zero-knowledge proofs builder Lagrange Labs and Hetu Protocol, developing a provenance layer for decentralized AI research, have partnered to introduce cryptographic trust to AI scientific research.
With [Lagrange’s] DeepProve, every dataset, model update, and contribution on Hetu is verifiable—proven correct, attributed, and tamper-proof by default.
GAEA and DIN Join Forces to Supercharge DeAI Infra
GAEA AI and DIN have joined forces to advance decentralized AI infrastructure by combining GAEA’s blockchain-based AI capabilities with DIN’s optimized platform for AI agents and decentralized applications.
Web3 + AI Investment News
Satsuma Raises Record-Breaking $218M
AI infrastructure and subnet deployment company Satsuma Technology Plc raised $217.6M in a funding round led by ParaFi Capital, with participation from Pantera Capital, Blockchain.com, Kraken, Arrington Capital, and more.
Satsuma Technology is one of the first companies focused specifically on professional service agents deployed across multiple Bittensor subnets. Their dual focus on both infrastructure investment and agent development creates unique synergies, allowing them to optimize agent performance based on deep subnet insights while using agent revenue to expand their subnet positions.
Manifold Closes $10.5M Series A to Accelerate Targon
Another impressive funding round from the Bittensor universe: Manifold Labs, spearheading decentralized AI infrastructure, secured $10.5M in funding to boost the development of its flagship product Targon. Targon, or Bittensor Subnet 4, is a decentralized AI cloud and a peer-to-peer AI marketplace where contributors share compute and models.
The investment, led by OSS Capital, will empower Targon to improve performance and scale broadly, with the promise of a more open, equitable, and transparent AI ecosystem.
Betting Agent Billy Bets Gets $1M from Coinbase, Virtuals
AI-powered autonomous betting agent Billy Bets raised $1M in a funding round from Coinbase Ventures, Virtuals Protocol, Contango Digital Assets, and more.
Web3 + AI Events
Amber Group’s BUIDL_QUESTS 2025 Targets AgentFi
Amber Group, powering innovation in crypto and AI, has launched its global builder initiative BUIDL_QUESTS 2025, focused on AgentFi. It aims to create a space for developers, researchers, and entrepreneurs to explore what happens when on-chain systems meet intelligent agents. BUIDL-QUESTS 2025 is backed by over $10M in incentives and supporters like Phala, Amazon Web Services (AWS), BNB Chain, Sahara AI, AltLayer, KuCoin Exchange, Yotta Labs, and many more. You have until August 20th to submit your idea.
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