On December 10, Surf, a professional AI platform built specifically for the cryptocurrency field, announced the completion of a $15 million funding round, led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group.
Surf launched as an invitation-only product in July and opened to the public in September. According to company data, the platform currently has over 300,000 users and has generated over 1 million search results. Li stated that Surf can answer a wide range of crypto questions, from basic to advanced technical questions. 80% of the platform's users are not crypto professionals, while the remaining 20% come from venture capital firms, exchanges, and other crypto-related organizations.
The startup claims its revenue has reached several million dollars and hopes to grow to $10 million by the end of 2026. Surf's revenue comes from a subscription model, with users paying between $15 and $399 per month depending on the tier. A free version is also available, but with a limited number of questions that can be asked each day. The company currently has fewer than 30 employees.
Li considers mainstream AI models such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Grok to be the company's main competitors. According to a benchmark report co-authored with Princeton University, Surf outperforms ChatGPT and Grok by four times in cryptographic tasks.
