Sahara AI Secures $43 Million to Advance Decentralized AI, Launches Testnet with Over 10,000 Contributors
Sahara AI, a decentralized AI blockchain platform, has raised $43 million in a Series A funding round led by Pantera Capital, Binance Labs, and Polychain Capital, with additional backing from Samsung NEXT, Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, and others. The Los Angeles-based company, founded in April 2023, aims to reshape the AI landscape by creating an equitable and transparent AI economy, prioritizing user sovereignty, provenance, and accessibility.
The new capital will be used to expand Sahara AI’s global team, enhance its AI blockchain infrastructure, and grow its developer ecosystem. Sahara AI’s platform leverages blockchain technology to ensure secure ownership and fair compensation for contributors of AI assets, addressing growing concerns over copyright, privacy, and economic imbalances in the rapidly evolving AI sector.
Sahara AI’s mission is to reward users, data sources, and AI trainers—groups often overlooked in traditional, centralized AI models—by providing mechanisms for secure attribution and monetization of their contributions. “There is often no transparency on how users' proprietary models and agents are used by these centralized AI providers, and no protection or compensation for users' contributions,” said co-founder and CEO Sean Ren. The platform’s decentralized approach aims to offer a solution to these ethical and economic challenges by allowing contributors to retain control and receive fair rewards for their data and models.
Trusted by major technology partners such as Microsoft, Amazon, and MIT, Sahara AI has already launched the first phase of its SIWA testnet, onboarding over 10,000 contributors to validate its core protocols. The company’s 2024-2025 roadmap includes expanding its Data Services Platform and AI Marketplace, with opportunities for participants to earn rewards through tasks and NFT campaigns like Sahara Legends.
Sahara AI’s funding and testnet launch underscore its commitment to building a collaborative, open AI ecosystem, positioning itself as a leading innovator in the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence.