Decentralized AI network Sahara raises fresh capital in Samsung NEXT-backed round By Reuters

Written by Manya Saini

Sahara AI, a startup that combines blockchain technology with artificial intelligence, said Wednesday it has raised $43 million in a funding round led by venture capital investors Pantera Capital, Binance Labs and Polychain Capital.

The Series A funding also attracted investments from Samsung (KS:) NEXT alongside early-stage investor Matrix Partners, crypto investment fund dao5, and venture fund Geekcartel, among others.

The company did not disclose the valuation at which the latest round was raised.

Why is this important?

Sahara AI aims to reward users, data sources, and AI trainers who are essential to the success of generative AI through its decentralized blockchain platform, as opposed to the current model that typically benefits the company that created it.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its global team, improve the performance of its platform, and grow its developer ecosystem.

Since its founding in April 2023, Sahara AI has partnered with several prominent technology companies including Microsoft (NASDAQ:), Amazon (NASDAQ:), and Snap.

Context

Data is the building block of generative AI to produce human-like creations, but this booming sector has come under scrutiny due to concerns about fair data use, copyright, and privacy issues.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector has also attracted significant interest from private investors this year amid a surge in Bitcoin prices after a long dry spell due to industry volatility.

Key Quotes

“There is often no transparency about how centralized AI providers use users’ proprietary models and agents, and no protection or compensation for user contributions,” Sean Ren, co-founder and CEO of Sahara AI, told Reuters.

“Ethical concerns about copyright, privacy, access to resources, and economic imbalances continue to grow as AI becomes more widely adopted and capable.”

(This story has been officially corrected to read “Samsung NEXT,” not “Samsung,” in the headline and paragraph 2.)