A quick overview of 178 crypto AI projects in one picture

Author:Dima Khanarin

Compiled by: TechFlow

The intersection of Crypto and AI is rapidly evolving. After Devcon, I compiled a map covering all known projects to help better understand the landscape.

The map categorizes the projects into three groups:

• Apps

• Middleware

• Infra

Each category includes financing data and information on launched tokens.

1. Apps (31 projects, over $240 million total funding, 8 tokens launched, over $3 billion total FDV):

1.1) DeFi Apps

• 6 projects, $1 million funding, no tokens launched yet.

• Including @rug_ai, @RPS_Labs, etc.

1.2) Chatbots

• 4 projects, 1 token launched, over $10 million total FDV.

• For example, @Libertai_DAI.

1.3) Payment Apps

• 6 projects, $33 million funding, no tokens launched yet.

• Representative projects include:

@PaymanAI ($13.8 million funding);

@trySkyfire ($9.5 million funding);

@BitteProtocol ($7.5 million funding), etc.

1.4) AI Agents and Influencers

• Over 10 projects, 10+ tokens launched, over $3 billion total FDV.

• Including TT, a16z, Zerebro, @centienceio, etc.

1.5) Engineering and Security

• 4 projects, $33 million funding, 2 tokens launched, over $200 million total FDV.

• For example:

@Chain_GPT ($CGPT, $120 million FDV);

@FortaNetwork ($FORT, $100 million FDV);

@MetaTrustLabs ($10 million funding), etc.

1.6) Consumer Apps

• 6 projects, $12 million funding, 2 tokens launched, over $100 million total FDV.

• Including:

@aiarena_ ($NRN, $80 million FDV);

@bottoproject ($BOTTO, $60 million FDV), etc.

1.7) Smart Tools

• 4 projects, $163 million funding, 2 tokens launched, over $2 billion total FDV.

• For example, Arkham Intel ($ARKM, $200 million FDV), Kaito, Dune, and Messari.

2. Middleware (106 projects, over $800 million total funding, 25 tokens launched, over $18 billion total FDV):

2.1) Training and Collaboration

• 16 projects, $120 million funding, 4 tokens launched, over $10 billion total FDV.

• Including well-known Bittensor and Sentient, as well as @assisterr, @Pluralis__, etc.

• Tradable tokens include:

@Dither_Solana ($DITH, $10 million FDV);

@hyper_tensor ($TENSOR, $25 million FDV);

@communeaidotorg ($COMAI, $200 million FDV).

2.2) Inference Services

• 17 projects, $57 million funding, 2 tokens launched, over $50 million total FDV.

• For example:

Allora Network ($35 million funding);

@OpenGradient ($8.5 million funding);

@hyperbolic_labs ($7 million funding);

and small teams like @openex_network ($OEX, $45 million FDV).

2.3) Data Platforms and Monetization

• 23 projects, $240 million funding, 7 tokens launched, over $1 billion total FDV.

• Many well-funded protocols:

Story Protocol ($134.3 million raised);

Space and Time ($50 million raised);

@SaharaLabsAI ($43 million raised);

Ocean Protocol ($OCEAN, $500 million FDV);

Vana ($25 million raised);

Hivemapper ($HONEY, $500 million FDV).

2.4) Privacy Protection

• 14 projects, $250 million funding, 2 tokens launched, over $80 million total FDV.

• For example:

Zama ($82.3 million funding);

Oasis Protocol ($ROSE, $80 million FDV), etc.

2.5) Agent Platforms

• 24 projects, $175 million funding, 6 tokens launched, over $6.5 billion total FDV.

• Including:

Fetch AI ($FET, $3.5 billion FDV);

@Spectral_Labs ($SPEC, $1 billion FDV);

@virtuals_io ($VIRTUAL, $450 million FDV);

@autonolas ($OLAS, $850 million FDV);

@MorpheusAIs ($MOR, $800 million FDV).

2.6) Research

• 3 projects, $5 million funding, no tokens launched yet.

• These projects focus on frontier research in AI and blockchain, represented by teams like @NousResearch, @physynAI, and @peri_labs.

2.7) Data Collection and Labeling

• 9 projects, $30 million funding, 1 token launched, over $120 million total FDV.

• Representative projects include:

@getmasafi ($MASA, $126 million FDV);

@din_lol_ ($8 million funding);

@KivaAi ($7 million funding).

3. Infrastructure (41 projects in total, with total financing exceeding $1 billion, 24 tokens already launched, and a total fully diluted valuation (FDV) exceeding $42 billion)

3.1) Compute

• 22 projects, $212 million in financing, 14 tokens already launched, with a total FDV exceeding $11 billion.

• Representative projects include:

Gensyn ($50 million in financing);

Render ($RENDER, $4 billion FDV);

@HiveDistributed ($13 million in financing);

@PhalaNetwork ($PHA, $125 million FDV);

Aethir ($ATH, $2.6 billion FDV);

@fluence_project ($FLT, $250 million FDV);

@SpheronFDN ($7 million);

@akashnet ($AKT, $1 billion FDV);

@nosana_ai ($NOS, $33 million FDV);

@Neura_io ($ANKR, $34.2 million FDV);

@RunOnFlux ($FLUX, $25 million FDV), etc.

3.2) AI Chains

• 10 projects, $357 million in financing, 4 tokens already launched, with a total FDV exceeding $9 billion.

• Representative projects include:

@OG_network ($325 million in financing);

Autonomys ($33 million in financing);

io.net ($IO, $1.8 billion FDV);

@golemproject ($GLM, $370 million FDV);

Ora ($ORAI, $120 million FDV).

3.3) Data Storage

• 8 projects, $374 million in financing, 5 tokens already launched, with a total FDV exceeding $10 billion.

• Representative projects include:

GenesysGk ($43 million in financing);

@storj ($STORJ, $210 million FDV);

Ceramic Network ($30 million in financing);

@Rivalz_AI ($11 million);

@AIOZNetwork ($AIOZ, $900 million FDV);

@ArweaveEco ($AR, $1.2 billion FDV).

3.4) Proof of Humanity

• This category is represented by WorldCoin, with $115 million in financing, the token $WLD, and a total FDV as high as $22 billion.

Why am I undertaking this massive analysis?

My original intention is to help venture capitalists (VCs) and crypto enthusiasts discover potential hot tokens, while also deconstructing the current market hype:

• Is there sufficient funding in this field?

• Are there powerful protocols supporting each category?

• Apart from AI concept tokens, is there real market appeal?

Based on the current situation, the answers are generally negative:

• Funding is still insufficient - $200 million is negligible for a rapidly developing field.

• It is very difficult to compete with centralized laboratories in AI stack development.

• The market appeal of most projects is still at the speculative stage, with no mature applications emerging.

Currently, funding is mainly concentrated on infrastructure and middleware - but this situation will change as the ecosystem evolves.

I agree with a16z's view: over the next few years, value will gradually shift towards the application layer.

Ultimately, the entire Crypto x AI economy will be cross-chain, with support from @EverclearOrg.