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AI crypto investors: 44 backers, 18 rounds, $317.6M since July

By NAUT Research · · 7 min read

$317.6M AI crypto investors raised across the 11 of 18 AI rounds that disclosed, 1 July to 27 October 2026. Logos: Prime Intellect, Nous Research, Mecka, NeoSoul, Dataline, AIsa, Infini, PonyGo, XStable, De¹, FinTax, 4DLabs, REP, Travix, Grass.

AI crypto investors backed 18 rounds into 15 AI companies from 1 July to 27 October 2026, and the 11 rounds that disclosed an amount came to $317.6M. 44 backers are named across them, 32 firms and 12 angels, with Amber Group and NVIDIA Venture Capital in 3 rounds each, more than any other firm.

Data as of 27 October 2026, from NAUT's funding records. The scope is venture, incubation and strategic rounds into AI companies that crypto investors back: agent payments, AI trading infrastructure, decentralised training, AI data networks and robotics data. Most of these teams are crypto-native, and 1 is not: Mecka is an AI robotics data company whose cap table includes crypto funds. Every round with an outside announcement is checked against that announcement and, where a second report exists, against that report too, with every link listed under Sources; 7 rounds are recorded only in NAUT's own data and are marked as such. 1 further AI round in this window sits on a company record that is being corrected, so it is left out. NAUT Research wrote this report, and nobody paid for it.

Which AI crypto investors backed 18 rounds since 1 July?

Date Company Round and raised Backers on NAUT
3 Jul Seed, $6.5M None recorded
8 Jul Series A, $130M
20 Aug Pre-Series A, $11M (lead), , ,
25 Aug Incubation, $0.5M None recorded
25 Aug Incubation, $0.5M None recorded
25 Aug Incubation, $0.5M None recorded
27 Aug Seed, amount not disclosed
11 Sep Incubation, amount not disclosed
17 Sep Angel, amount not disclosed 12 angels, including and
20 Sep Strategic, $2M
21 Sep Seed, amount not disclosed
22 Sep Seed, $6M , , ,
22 Sep Round and amount not disclosed , , ,
29 Sep Round and amount not disclosed
7 Oct Series B, $60M (lead), , , , , , ,
7 Oct Series B, $90M (lead), , , , , ,
15 Oct Strategic, amount not disclosed
21 Oct Seed, $10.6M (lead), (lead), , ,

4 of the 18 rounds named a lead: MH Ventures at NeoSoul, Sequoia Capital at Mecka, Robot Ventures at Nous Research, and Lattice with Dispersion Capital co-leading Dataline.

Every date above is the date the round was announced, which can sit months after the money landed. The last column lists the backers NAUT has recorded for each round, so a round can have more participants than the ones shown. Infini's seed is one case: the PYMNTS announcement names 6 firms, and 4 of them are on NAUT. Names follow NAUT's own entity records, so SNZ Holding appears as SNZ Capital in the press coverage of that round.

Who backed each company, and what does it build?

How much did each AI and DeFAI startup raise?

Raised per round, the 11 of 18 that disclosed an amount
  1. Prime Intellect$130M
  2. Nous Research$90M
  3. Mecka$60M
  4. NeoSoul$11M
  5. Dataline$10.6M
  6. AIsa$6.5M
  7. Infini$6M
  8. PonyGo$2M
  9. XStable$0.5M
  10. De¹$0.5M
  11. FinTax$0.5M

Prime Intellect, Nous Research and Mecka took $280M of the $317.6M disclosed, 88% of it. The 7 rounds with no amount are FinTax's seed, 4DLabs's incubation, REP's angel round, Travix's seed, XStable's September round, Grass's round and AIsa's strategic round.

Which backers appear in more than 1 round?

What this tells a BD team

  • 12 of the 15 companies raised $11M or less, or did not disclose. Those teams buy in small sizes and decide fast. The 3 that raised $60M or more, Prime Intellect, Nous Research and Mecka, are the budgets for infrastructure, compute and robotics data.
  • 7 rounds were incubations, angel or strategic checks. XStable, De¹, FinTax and 4DLabs came through incubation, REP through 12 angels, and AIsa and PonyGo through strategic investors, so the people to reach there are the incubator and the angels as much as the founders.
  • 3 companies raised twice in these 4 months. AIsa, FinTax and XStable each closed 2 rounds in the window, which is the clearest signal of a team that is spending.
How a BD team can work this list
  1. Split by cheque size3 teams raised $280M between them, the other 12 raised $37.6M or did not disclose.
  2. Pick the repeat raisersAIsa, FinTax and XStable each closed 2 rounds since 1 July.
  3. Find the decision makerEach company's NAUT page lists its team and the people to contact.
  4. Reach out while it is news4 of these 18 rounds were announced in October 2026, so the money is still fresh.

What this tells an AI founder raising now

How a founder can use this list
  1. Shortlist the repeat backersAmber Group and NVIDIA Venture Capital backed 3 rounds each, YZi Labs, CatcherVC and M12 2 each.
  2. Match a lead to your stageLattice and Dispersion Capital co-led a $10.6M seed, Robot Ventures led a $90M Series B.
  3. Add the strategicsTether, Sui Foundation, SamsungNext, M12 and Qualcomm all wrote into this window.
  4. Reach the partnerEach investor's NAUT page lists its team, so you can ask for the right person by name.

How to reach these AI crypto investors

Every company, investor and person above links to its NAUT page, which lists the team, the backers and the people to contact. 32 firms and 12 angels from these 18 rounds have a NAUT page, and so do all 15 companies. Open the investor page to see who sits on its team, open the company page to see who runs it, and work from there to a warm introduction.

AI crypto investors FAQ

Which VCs back AI crypto startups?

From 1 July to 27 October 2026, the most active were Amber Group and NVIDIA Venture Capital with 3 rounds each, then YZi Labs, CatcherVC and M12 with 2 each. Sequoia Capital, Robot Ventures, MH Ventures, Lattice, Dispersion Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital and Union Square Ventures (USV) each backed 1 of these 18 rounds.

How much did AI and DeFAI startups raise since July 2026?

$317.6M, across the 11 of 18 rounds that disclosed an amount between 1 July and 27 October 2026. The other 7 rounds, including AIsa's strategic round from Tether and Grass's round from Multicoin Capital, named no figure.

Which AI crypto startup raised the most since July 2026?

Prime Intellect, with a $130M Series A announced on 8 July 2026 that NVIDIA Venture Capital joined. Nous Research was next at $90M on 7 October 2026, led by Robot Ventures, then Mecka at $60M on the same day, led by Sequoia Capital.

Who invested in AI agent startups between July and October 2026?

Tether invested in agent payment network AIsa on 15 October 2026, Lattice and Dispersion Capital co-led agent data network Dataline's $10.6M seed, announced on 21 October 2026, and MH Ventures led agent trading platform NeoSoul's $11M pre-Series A on 20 August 2026.

Which AI crypto rounds were announced in October 2026?

4 of these 18 rounds: Mecka's $60M Series B led by Sequoia Capital and Nous Research's $90M Series B, both on 7 October 2026, Tether's strategic investment in AIsa on 15 October 2026, and Dataline's $10.6M seed co-led by Lattice and Dispersion Capital on 21 October 2026.

Sources