Institutional Bulletin: Story Protocol Secures $80 Million, Chaos Labs Raises $55 Million

The cryptocurrency industry continues to attract a growing number of institutional players. This is evident from new investments in infrastructure and the increasing attention companies are paying to bitcoin as an asset class. ForkLog reviews the most significant events of recent weeks.

Story Protocol Platform Raises $80 Million

The team behind Story Protocol, an open-source platform for intellectual property rights verification, has closed a funding round of $80 million.

1/ Announcing $140M in total fundraising to build Story, the World’s IP Blockchain. pic.twitter.com/9M3tqqYcvO

— Story (꧁IP꧂) (@StoryProtocol) August 21, 2024

The round was led by a16z Crypto with participation from Polychain Capital, Foresight Ventures, Nomad, Hashed, Samsung Next, and other investors.

The project positions itself as the first “global IP blockchain.” Its goal is to democratize intellectual property rights verification through a global and scalable repository.

Chaos Labs Platform Raises $55 Million

Chaos Labs, a platform providing automated risk management in the DeFi sector, has closed a Series A funding round of $55 million.

1/ We’re excited to announce our $55M Series A led by @HaunVentures alongside @lightspeedvp, @FPrimeCapital, @wintermute_t, @galaxyhq, @PayPal, @slow, @TheSpartanGroup, and more.

Our company is named after the problem we’re trying to solve.

The Chaos Labs mission is simple:… pic.twitter.com/1k50EHT0Tc

— Chaos Labs (@chaos_labs) August 15, 2024

The round was led by venture firm Haun Ventures with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, Wintermute, PayPal, Galaxy Digital, Slow Ventures, The Spartan Group, and others.

Chaos Labs aims to strengthen trust and enhance transparency in the financial markets of the future. According to a press release, the platform’s client base has tripled over the past year.

The funds raised will be used to expand functionality and offer new services. 

AI Startup Sahara AI Raises $43 Million

The decentralized blockchain-based AI platform Sahara AI has closed a funding round of $43 million.

Sahara AI raised $43M to build a collaborative AI economy!

Co-led by @PanteraCapital, @BinanceLabs, and @polychain, this funding brings us closer to a future of open, equitable, and secure AI through our decentralized AI blockchain platform.

We also saw participation from… pic.twitter.com/f67Vi0nDey

— Sahara AI (@SaharaLabsAI) August 14, 2024

The round was led by Binance Labs, Pantera Capital, and Polychain Capital with participation from Samsung, Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, dao5, Geekcartel, Nomad Capital, SCB 10X, Canonical Capital, Mirana Ventures, Foresight Ventures, Dispersion Capital, and others.

The project aims to address issues related to copyright and privacy amid the proliferation of AI tools.

Sahara AI intends to use its blockchain to ensure transparent transactions.

Fabric Cryptography Startup Raises $33 Million

The cryptocurrency hardware startup Fabric Cryptography has closed a Series A funding round of $33 million.

1/ We’re thrilled to announce that Fabric Cryptography has raised $33M in Series A funding to accelerate advanced cryptography workloads with our general purpose chip – the Verifiable Processing Unit (VPU). pic.twitter.com/DcboNxZV2c

— Fabric Cryptography (@FabricCrypto) August 19, 2024

The round was led by Blockchain Capital and 1kx with participation from Offchain Labs, Polygon, and Matter Labs.

The funds raised will be used to develop computational chips, software, and cryptographic algorithms.

The team aims to create a verified processor for cryptography work—the VPU. According to a press release, the company has already secured tens of millions in pre-orders for this product.

Fabric Cryptography plans to release the first chips in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Sling Money Payment App Raises $15 Million

The team behind Sling Money, a stablecoin-based payment app, has closed a Series A funding round of $15 million.

Exciting news! ? We’ve raised a Series A led by @usv with @RibbitCapital and @SlowVentures. This funding will help our mission of making sending money around the world instant, easy, and low-cost. Read more here & DM us if you’d like to try Sling ?https://t.co/hSKsqFrkKb

— Sling Money (@SlingMoney) August 14, 2024

The round was led by Union Square Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and Slow Ventures.

“Sling Money combines stablecoin technology with a user-friendly interface and seamless integration with fiat payment systems to provide a better, faster, and cheaper way to transfer money worldwide,” the press release states.

The company stated that its clients can send money to over 50 countries in Europe and Africa. Each transaction takes “just a few seconds.”

Bitcoin Restaking Protocol SatLayer Raises $8 Million

The team behind SatLayer, a bitcoin restaking protocol, has closed a funding round of $8 million.

Say ₿m to SatLayer!

The universal security layer powered by Bitcoin is announcing a $8M pre-seed round led by @Hack_VC @CastleIslandVC w/support from @FTI_DA @OKX_Ventures @mirana & other awesome partners ?

SatLayer deposits kick off on August 22, 2024, 14:00 UTC, at… pic.twitter.com/LXi1h5vb30

— SatLayer (@satlayer) August 22, 2024

The round was led by Hack VC and Castle Island Ventures with participation from OKX Ventures, Amber Group, CMS Holdings, Franklin Templeton Investments, and other investors.

Built on the Babylon platform, the SatLayer protocol is focused on enhancing the security and scalability of the bitcoin network. The team plans to implement a Bitcoin Validated Services (BVS) system for restaking the asset.

SatLayer co-founder Luke Xi told The Block about significant user interest in allowing bitcoin to become the primary collateral asset for securing decentralized applications and infrastructure.

Also on ForkLog:

• TON Ventures has raised $40 million in investments.