OKX Ventures, led by partner Jeff Ren, has identified sustainability solutions and zero-knowledge technology as key investment priorities for the near future. Ren shared insights in an interview with Cointelegraph regarding OKX’s investment plans for 2024 and the trends influencing their decisions.
One of OKX’s main focuses is on promoting sustainable solutions within the blockchain industry. This includes projects that explore tokenizing green assets, implementing on-chain carbon offsetting, and developing methods for tracking and verifying ESG data and intelligence.
Another area of interest for OKX Ventures is zero-knowledge technology. Recently, the firm co-led a $12 million investment in the ZK hardware acceleration project Cysic. Additionally, OKX is eyeing the intersection of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, recognizing the potential for disruptive advancements in industries like AI-driven decision-making, predictive analytics, and personalized services.
Ren emphasized the importance of projects showcasing real-world applications of blockchain technology, delivering value to users and communities, and supporting innovation within the industry. Notable investments in OKX’s startup portfolio include MyShell, a decentralized AI consumer layer, and Flock.io, a platform for AI models and decentralized applications.
In recent weeks, several startups have secured funding, including WeatherXM AG, which raised $7.7 million for their decentralized weather network. The investment will be used to expand the team, further develop crypto-enabled weather hardware, and enhance decentralized infrastructure to support applications like on-chain prediction markets and parametric weather insurance.
Switchboard, a customizable oracle network, raised $7.5 million in a Series A round to empower users in controlling data on-chain for various applications. The funding will aid Switchboard’s expansion as they continue to attract users and enhance their services.
GaiaNet, an AI infrastructure project, secured $10 million in a Series Seed Round to develop a decentralized network for open-source LLM and AI agents. The distributed network aims to host AI models based on individual and business expertise, with funding supporting network infrastructure and AI training model development.
Furthermore, OKX Ventures invested $12 million in Cysic, specializing in zero-knowledge hardware acceleration, to expedite ZK-proof generation. The investment will fuel Cysic’s global expansion, employee recruitment, and hardware production.
Oracles solution provider API3 received a $4 million funding round led by DWF Labs to support its growth strategy. API3 offers decentralized data feeds for smart contracts and decentralized APIs for accessing real-world data, with significant growth in Total Secured Value since January.
Lastly, financial services startup SCRYPT closed a $5 million funding round led by Brazilian exchange bank Braza Bank. SCRYPT, founded in 2020, offers trading, custody, and staking services, catering to over 200 institutional clients and recently receiving Swiss regulatory approval for asset management solutions.