Source: Cointelegraph Original: "{title}"
According to data from Galaxy Research, venture capital funding for blockchain startups reached $2.4 billion in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 20% compared to the previous quarter.
Between July and September, crypto startups completed 478 deals, a 17% decrease from the second quarter. Despite the slowdown, this year's investment is still expected to match or slightly exceed 2023 levels, with startups in the industry having secured $8 billion in funding to date. Crunchbase's Web3 Tracker previously reported a more conservative figure, stating that venture capital for the first three quarters of this year amounted to $5.4 billion.
According to Galaxy's report, funding for startups combining artificial intelligence and blockchain technology grew fivefold over the past three months. Major contributors include companies like Sentient, CeTi, and Sahara AI, which collectively raised $188 million.
Venture capital and transaction numbers. Source: Galaxy Research
Layer 1 blockchain projects were the highlight of this quarter, attracting $341 million, accounting for 13.6% of total capital. Among them, Exochain and Story Protocol secured more than half of the funding. Following closely were trading, exchange, and infrastructure companies, which raised $265.4 million and $258 million, respectively.
In contrast, investments in the Web3 and gaming sectors fell by 39%, the largest decline among all categories.
The report noted that early-stage companies accounted for 85% of the funding. The median pre-money valuation for deals was $23 million, with an average deal size of $3.5 million.
This issue of Cointelegraph's venture capital overview introduces some startups that secured funding in early November.
Decentralized AI startup Eidon AI raised $3.5 million in a seed round, led by Framework Ventures, with participation from Cyber Fund. The company was founded by former DeepMind researchers Peter Toth and Sam Padilla, who were members of Google's Cloud Web3 team.
The network incentivizes users to contribute data to on-chain AI agents and rewards them based on the economic value generated. This model aims to integrate AI, blockchain, and human collaboration to create a decentralized economy. According to the startup, the initial version of its network includes an AI agent system for data evaluation, an open sequencer, and a data collection application.
Eidon also launched MemAgents, a multimodal AI agent system designed for unlabeled data collection. The company plans to expand its community of data collectors, launch the Eidon chain, and release an agent SDK to facilitate the creation and integration of on-chain AI models. Related link: Decentralized AI operating system Zero Gravity Labs secures $290 million in funding.
The zero-knowledge (ZK) platform Brevis raised $7.5 million in seed funding, led by Polychain Capital and Binance Labs, with follow-on investments from IOSG, Nomad Capital, Bankless Ventures, HashKey, and other angel investors. The platform utilizes ZK-proofs to enable off-chain computation verification on-chain, addressing blockchain scalability and cost challenges for complex computations.
In other words, its ZK co-processor allows smart contracts to access and compute historical on-chain data without directly handling the computational load. According to Binance Labs, this technology benefits data-driven decentralized finance (DeFi), GameFi, and other Web3 applications without impacting liquidity or state fragmentation. Early adopters of Brevis technology include Kwenta, JoJo Exchange, and Trusta.
Blockchain startup Multiledgers raised 5.8 million Brazilian Reais (approximately nearly $1 million) in a funding round co-led by Oxygea and Indicator Capital, with participation from Koyamaki Ventures. The platform provides integrated solutions for companies managing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) assets, including carbon credits and renewable energy bonds.
This startup promises to simplify complex processes such as the initiation, tracking, and certification of these assets, ensuring data reliability and regulatory compliance through blockchain. The investment will be used to further develop the platform's technology and expand its market reach. According to Multiledgers' projections, the bond issuance market linked to ESG will exceed $30 trillion by 2026, while the market for renewable energy certificates (RECs) will reach $100 billion by 2030.
Alluvial, the software company behind the Liquid Collective staking standard, raised $4.3 million in a new funding round, bringing its total funding to $22.5 million. This round was led by Variant, with participation from Ethereal Ventures, Brevan Howard Digital, F-Prime Capital, Nascent, and other investors. Liquid Collective is a staking protocol focused on enterprise needs.
According to Alluvial, the company currently manages over $374 million in total value locked (TVL) and has achieved 360% growth over the past year. The company stated that the new investment will target institutional staking solutions as financial institutions explore compliant staking options. In 2022, Alluvial raised $6.3 million in a seed round, with participants including Coinbase, Kraken, and Figment. Related link: Portal Ventures raises $75 million for pre-seed cryptocurrency fund.
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