- On August 14, Sahara AI announced it had raised $43 million in a funding round led by Pantera Capital, Binance Labs, and Polychain Capital.
- Sahara AI’s funding and innovative approach could have a significant impact on the AI industry by addressing key issues related to transparency, fairness, and data usage.
OUR TAKE
Sahara AI’s focus on integrating blockchain technology with AI is particularly intriguing. By using a decentralised platform, the company aims to address significant issues related to transparency and fairness in the AI industry. Traditional AI models often face criticism for their lack of transparency and for benefiting mainly the companies that create them, sometimes at the expense of users and data contributors. Sahara AI’s model, which seeks to reward users and data sources, could potentially set a new standard for how AI technologies are developed and used.
–Tacy Ding, BTW reporter
What happened
Sahara AI, a startup merging blockchain technology with artificial intelligence, announced today that it has raised $43 million in its Series A funding round.
The investment round was led by prominent venture capital firms, including Pantera Capital, Binance Labs, and Polychain Capital.
The round also saw contributions from a broad range of investors, including Samsung NEXT, Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, dao5, Geekcartel, Nomad Capital, SCB 10X, Canonical Capital, Mirana Ventures, Foresight Ventures, Dispersion Capital, Aegis Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Tangent Ventures. This diverse investor group highlights significant interest in Sahara AI’s efforts to advance the accessibility and development of artificial intelligence technologies.
The company has not disclosed the valuation at which the latest round was completed.
Since Sahara AI founding in April 2023, this company has grown exponentially, and is now trusted by over 35 leading tech innovators and research institutions, including Microsoft, Amazon, MIT, Motherson Group, and Snap.
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Why it’s important
As AI technology advances, concerns about control and usage of these systems have intensified. Major tech companies currently dominate the AI sector, often leveraging vast amounts of public data contributed by individuals without sufficient compensation or transparency.
Sahara AI aims to revolutionise the landscape of generative AI by rewarding users, data sources, and AI trainers through its decentralised blockchain platform. This approach contrasts with the traditional model, which typically benefits only the company that created the AI.
The newly acquired funds will be utilised to expand Sahara AI’s global team, enhance the performance of its platform, and grow its developer ecosystem.
“There is often no transparency on how users’ proprietary models and agents are used by these centralised AI providers, and no protection or compensation for users’ contributions,” Sahara AI’s co-Founder and CEO Sean Ren said.
