The Venture Codex

Participated · Series A · Apr 2024

GPU.net builds a decentralized GPU infrastructure marketplace aimed at meeting compute needs for generative AI, Web3/metaverse projects, cryptocurrency mining, and high-end graphics rendering. The platform pools distributed GPU resources to serve emerging compute-intensive applications. In the article GPU.net is reported to have completed a $5.25M Series A financing, following an earlier $500k financing in August of the prior year. Investors in the latest round include a mix of crypto-focused funds and individual backers named in the coverage. The company’s recent financings suggest a focus on expanding its network and capacity to address growing demand for decentralized GPU compute. No specific revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article. GPU.net provides a decentralized GPU-on-demand infrastructure featuring multi-purpose GPUs and a decentralized architecture. The platform highlights data privacy via FHE and includes protocol-dring among its features. It is positioned to empower workloads such as Generative AI, Web Metaverses, high-end graphics rendering, and cryptocurrency mining. Co-founded by Suraj Chawla and Kirubakaran Reddy, the company aims to evolve into a Generative Processing Unit. Initially it plans to support versatile GPU tasks including 3D, AI, and research. The company raised USD500K to validate the platform’s potential and to accelerate development of infrastructure addressing global GPU resource challenges.

Led · Equity · Dec 2023

Hackless is a Kyiv-based company specializing in blockchain security solutions for the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Its offerings include products named Wallet Rescue and Sentinel, designed to safeguard digital assets and DeFi protocols from security breaches. The company raised $1.2M in funding to support product and technology development. The round was led by DaoMaker, with participation from Insignius Capital, Cosima Capital, DeltaHub Capital, Factorial, and Halvings Capital. Hackless intends to use the funds to further develop its security solutions. The firm is focused on preventing security breaches within DeFi environments.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2021

NuLink provides decentralized privacy protection technology via an API aimed at integrating privacy features into decentralized applications. Its platform is positioned to help developers, startups, small businesses and enterprises build applications while adopting security and privacy best practices. The company emphasizes privacy-preserving tooling for dApps rather than a consumer-facing product. NuLink is described as being based in Sweden. The article reports that NuLink completed a $1.6M strategic financing. The raise signals outside investor interest in its API-focused privacy offering. NuLink provides privacy-preserving technology for decentralized applications through an out-of-the-box API platform. The platform offers endpoint encryption and cryptographic access control, using Proxy Re-Encryption and Attribute-Based Encryption to grant access by policy. For data recipients, NuLink supports Zero-Knowledge Proofs for privacy-preserving data availability and can employ Fully Homomorphic Encryption for enterprise-level data computation. The company highlights use cases including encrypted NFT marketplaces, electronic health record sharing, joint medical data analysis, decentralized digital rights management, privacy-preserving social networks, and encrypted financial data prediction. Co-founder David Jiao said the roadmap is to create a smart and scalable software architecture and to evolve from privacy data sharing to privacy data computing while building industry-specific use cases. NuLink announced a $4 million raise from a syndicate of crypto investors, per the company press release.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2021

Pocket Arena is a play-to-earn NFT gaming portal and platform that aims to create an easy-to-use, trusted gaming ecosystem for ordinary people to enjoy playing and grow digital assets. Its flagship game, Castle Defense, attracted more than 6,000 daily active unique users before the POC token launched, with most players in the Philippines and Vietnam and an average playing time of 40 minutes. The company emphasizes community and cites support from global VCs, influencers and crypto groups as central to its ecosystem. In November 2021 Pocket Arena completed a $2.14M private round conducted as a sale of $POC tokens that accounted for 3.3% of total supply. The token sale is subject to a three-month lockup and a 12-month vesting period. Backers included a range of blockchain investors plus 58 global KOLs and more than 160 crypto community channels.