After two months of pre-market trading, Sent is finally going to be listed. I remember their funding round was in early 2024. Back then, due to the rise of traditional AI and the phenomenal growth of projects like Tao and WLD, Sent easily secured an astonishing 80 million from investors. Funding at that time was genuine, and no one thought Crypto AI was inferior to traditional AI. I remember once talking to the team on the phone, and they said that the interest generated from the funding round alone could cover a large portion of their expenses—it was a time of explosive growth. As we all know, the rest of the story unfolded. With a wave of AI Agent Memes issuing tokens, it became clear that narratives are just narratives and can never translate into actual revenue. Then, a number of older projects that couldn't issue tokens were resurrected with the help of market makers, completing due diligence for listing by incorporating AI narratives, plunging the entire AI sector into a stagnation. Then came October 11th, when the combined impact of liquidity shocks and narrative disillusionment caused the AI ​​crypto market to bottom out. Hitting the bottom doesn't guarantee a rebound, but it does indicate that expectations for Sent are extremely low. Sent's price fell steadily before and after its IPO, then traded sideways until the official launch a few days ago. Within a week, it had dropped 50%, and its FDV is now only $700 million, higher than its first round of funding but lower than its second. The cash raised is close to enough to repurchase the initial circulating shares. The market liquidity shock and the demise of narratives are terrible situations for all project teams, and launching during the most difficult time takes great courage. The return of profitability requires pioneers, and hopefully Sent can perform well.

Can these projects run away with the money they've raised?

American projects are unlikely, but it's possible to launder the money into one's own pocket, provided it's plausible.