Latest DePIN Funding News

The MetaCannes Film3 Festival, a collaboration between Theta Network and The Squad, concluded on May 25, 2024, offering a tech-forward and inclusive cinematic experience. The event featured world premieres, live streaming, and a focus on empowering underrepresented voices in the film industry. Sian Morson, founder of The BlkChain, curated a Short Film Block highlighting BIPOC voices, while Herflix sponsored a women-focused content feed and hosted the Better World Foundation gala. Swan Sit, known as the 'Queen of Clubhouse,' hosted the Herflix gala, which was attended by notable figures such as Juliette Binoche and Lang Lang. The festival introduced the Next Wave of Cinema Awards, with 'FREE FALL' winning the Grand Jury Golden Wave Award and 'FALLING FROM GRACE' receiving the Special Jury Prize for AI Cinema. MetaCannes emphasized AI's role in filmmaking through its MetaCannesNEXT segment, showcasing AI's impact on storytelling and distribution. Attendees enjoyed exclusive screenings of award-winning short films and new works by innovative filmmakers. Powered by Theta Network's NFT-based digital rights management, the festival provided a secure and transparent platform for film access. The event also launched exclusive NFT passes, enhancing the viewer experience with blockchain technology and offering access to creators in a token-gated Discord channel.

Decentralized energy network Starpower has completed a $2 million pre-seed funding round, with participation from Alliance, Arweave, IoTeX, Bas1s Ventures, and angel investors including Max Jungreis, Shen Bo, and Sal Gala. Starpower uses the DePIN model to connect energy power equipment like air conditioners, batteries, and electric vehicles, establishing a dispatchable energy management network to improve power efficiency and reduce grid fluctuations, accelerating global energy transformation. Currently, Starpower has 50,000 app and hardware users, aiming to connect over a million power devices within three years and become one of the world's largest distributed energy aggregators.

IoTeX, a leading modular DePIN blockchain platform, is set to host a Demo Day for the first cohort of its DePIN Surf accelerator program on April 30, 2024. Launched in January 2024 with support from FutureMoneyGroup and ForesightX, the DePIN Surf accelerator is dedicated to supporting DePIN founders. DePIN, a technological paradigm, covers any web-3 application with a physical element, including edge-AI and virtual power plants. The first cohort, which was officially launched at the R3al World event at ETHDenver, features seven startups preparing for their Token Generation Event (TGE) and global launch. During the two-month program, founders receive a $50k investment and comprehensive support from the IoTeX core team and a group of elite mentors. The program includes workshops on raising series-A funding, DePIN tokenomics, and community management fundamentals, as well as presentations at global web-3 events. DePIN has been gaining traction in web-3 circles as a key to connecting the crypto industry with the global population of non-crypto natives who rely on reliable physical infrastructure. The number of DePIN projects has grown exponentially from less than a hundred in late 2022 to over a thousand at the time of writing. However, DePIN projects face challenges such as designing and executing hardware manufacturing and distribution, which can take several years, in addition to building the tech stack that includes firmware, middleware, and software. DePIN Surf provides these projects with the support they need. The projects presenting at the Demo Day include: - Inferix: A decentralized GPU computing platform for visual computing and AI inference, with a major market share in Southeast Asia, India, and other developing markets. - Wayru: The world's first DePIN to partner with the UN to tackle the global connectivity crisis, using blockchain and the $WAYRU token to incentivize hotspot deployment and management. - PowerPod: A decentralized EV charging network providing reliable and accessible charging solutions for electric vehicles worldwide. - Network3: A dedicated AI layer-2 providing services to AI developers, helping them train and validate models quickly and efficiently. - StarPower: An AI and Web3-powered global energy network connecting devices in energy generation, storage, and consumption scenarios. - ATOR: A privacy protocol creating a safer, private layer for the internet through its DePIN routing network and signature hardware and software SDK. - DePHY: A decentralized off-chain data messaging network designed to empower DePIN projects to deploy faster and cheaper. IoTeX is a modular Web3 infrastructure platform connecting smart devices and real-world data to blockchains, enabling developers to integrate Web3 into everyday life through various innovations. With the launch of W3bstream, IoTeX has become a leading Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) technology provider, connecting billions of smart devices, machines, and sensors across the physical and digital world.

IoTeX, a decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) platform, has successfully secured a $50 million investment from a consortium of leading venture capital firms. This funding round, spearheaded by SNZ Capital, Foresight Ventures, FutureMoneyGroup, and Borderless Capital, aims to accelerate the growth and adoption of IoTeX's ecosystem. The funds will be allocated towards long-term staked IOTX, the native token of the IoTeX network, and investments in DePIN projects building on the platform. IoTeX's platform is designed to connect smart devices and real-world data to blockchains, enabling developers to integrate Web3 technology into everyday life. With its EVM-compatible L1 blockchain, off-chain compute middleware, and open hardware, IoTeX facilitates the interaction between billions of smart devices, machines, sensors, and dApps across the physical and digital world. The IoTeX ecosystem has been actively involved in developing and expanding DePIN throughout 2024. In early 2024, FutureMoney Group, in partnership with the IoTeX Foundation, launched a $5 million DePIN accelerator program to support startups innovating in the space. Additionally, IoTeX has formed strategic alliances with organizations such as Ankr to bolster the DePIN ecosystem and enhance the performance and decentralization of decentralized networks. Jing Sun, Co-Founder and Head of Investment at IoTeX, emphasized the potential for startups to innovate and bring verified, real-world data on-chain within the growing DePIN ecosystem. Keith Chen, Founding Partner of SNZ Capital, expressed excitement about investing in IoTeX and the DePIN projects building on its modular platform. Borderless Capital, known for being one of the most active DePIN investors, also participated in the funding round. With a focus on modular infrastructure, privacy, and traffic-routing solutions, IoTeX has positioned itself as a key player in the ongoing evolution of DePIN. The platform's commitment to simplifying the lives of application builders by providing off-the-shelf infrastructure solutions and support for go-to-market strategies, liquidity building, and community development has attracted developers and fostered innovation within the DePIN space.