Crypto startups raised a combined $92 million this week, according to data from DefiLlama. This brings the total crypto startup funding in 2025 to $11.1 billion, already 60% of Pitchbook’s forecast for the year. Venture capitalists are spreading their bets across various projects, but one theme dominated this week’s funding rounds.
Half of the week’s biggest raises went to firms building at the intersection of crypto and AI. The biggest winner of the week is xTAO, a Cayman Islands-based company building infrastructure for Bittensor. Bittensor aims to challenge centrally controlled AI giants such as OpenAI and Google.
“It was like when I first found Bitcoin and saw the problem that it was trying to solve,” said a representative from Bittensor. The company raised $22.8 million in a round backed by Digital Currency Group, Animoca Brands, Arca, Borderless Capital, and FalconX. Soluna, a green data center operator that powers Bitcoin mining and AI workloads with stranded renewable energy, raised $20 million in new funding.
The publicly listed firm says it will use the capital to expand its software platform and launch new facilities at renewable energy sites.
Crypto startups attract AI investments
Spring Lane Capital led the round.
Soluna aims to grow its footprint in Texas, a hub for Bitcoin and AI mining. 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 decentralized data layer for training physical AI systems, such as robotics and autonomous vehicles.
The goal is to curate and license IP-cleared training data through crypto-native incentives and infrastructure. Poseidon “seeks to establish a new economic foundation for the internet,” stated Chris Dixon, managing partner at a16z. AI-focused projects hauled in over 60% of this week’s crypto startup funding rounds.
From decentralized AI networks to training data engines for robots, venture capitalists are betting big on the intersection of AI and Web3. The strong funding activity this week shows continued investor confidence in the crypto space, even as the industry faces regulatory challenges and market volatility. As AI becomes an increasingly important part of the crypto ecosystem, expect to see more startups and investors focus on this area in the coming months and years.
