xTAO, the decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) network co-founded by WonderFi’s Karia Samaroo, has raised $31 million CAD ($22.8 million USD) in a pre-seed funding round.
The round was structured through subscription receipts and completed following a reverse merger with Vancouver-based Adrianna Ventures.
Backed by major digital asset investors
The raise attracted capital from leading digital-asset venture firms including Animoca Brands, Arca, Arche Capital, Borderless Capital, Digital Currency Group (DCG), FalconX, Hypersphere Ventures, Republic, Off the Chain Capital, and Stratos. Notably, there was no single lead investor. Samaroo noted the deal closed on July 11 and is being treated as a seed-stage financing.
Following the round, xTAO has gone public on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol XTAO.U. Samaroo called the funding and listing “important milestones” in the startup’s mission to democratize AI infrastructure.
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Built on Bittensor, aiming to challenge centralized AI control
xTAO is built on Bittensor, a blockchain protocol where TAO tokens are used to access AI models and computing power. The decentralized approach is viewed by investors as a counterweight to the dominance of centralized AI platforms operated by tech giants.
“Bittensor is incentivizing open and permission-less creation of machine intelligence,” said Arche Capital’s William Wolf. “We’re very excited to invest in xTAO because it brings structure, visibility, and capital access to Bittensor.”
From crypto to decentralized AI
Samaroo co-founded WonderFi in 2021, which became the first regulated Canadian crypto platform to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange. After stepping down as CEO in 2022, Samaroo remained board chair until late 2023.
Before launching xTAO, he founded BitMind in 2024, a company that helps detect unauthorized AI-generated content using Bittensor.
With its new capital and public listing, xTAO is now positioned to scale its vision of a decentralized AI economy—challenging incumbent systems and enabling broader access to machine intelligence.
