Venture capital firms PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst jointly invest $18 million in artificial intelligence cryptocurrency startup, Kite.

In a significant move for the AI and blockchain technology sectors, decentralized AI startup Kite has successfully secured $18 million in a Series A funding round. The round, co-led by PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst, also saw participation from venture capital firms 8VC, Samsung Next, and Alumni Ventures.

This latest round brings the total raised by Kite to $33 million, following a previously undisclosed seed round. The funding will be used to accelerate the development of Kite's infrastructure for AI agents.

Kite aims to differentiate itself by using blockchain technology to build a decentralized AI infrastructure. The startup envisions an internet where AI agents interact with each other without humans in between, paving the way for a future where tasks like shopping can be handled by AI agents without human intervention, even on platforms like Perplexity or ChatGPT.

Chi Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Kite, shared his vision, stating, "I see a future where AI agents handle shopping tasks without human intervention."

The funding round coincides with growing interest in AI and blockchain technology projects. Several companies, including Google, Meta, and X (formerly Twitter), are also working on building AI chatbots.

Notably, Alan Du, a partner at PayPal Ventures, commented on the firm's leading role in the funding. He emphasized the need for more infrastructure level building for AI agents to reach their transformative potential.

In addition, the infrastructure being built by Kite is intended to be powered by its community. This approach underscores Kite's commitment to creating a decentralized AI ecosystem that leverages the collective intelligence of its users.

The announcement of Kite's funding round marks an exciting step forward for the startup, as it continues to build a platform that envisions a future where AI agents interact on a decentralized network, revolutionizing the way we interact with technology.

Venture capital firms PayPal Ventures and General Catalyst jointly invest $18 million in artificial intelligence cryptocurrency startup, Kite.