ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, the decentralized AI agent project Scrypted has announced the completion of a $1.5 million Pre-Seed funding round, led by Palm Tree Crew Crypto, with participation from a16z crypto CSX. The new funds will be used to drive its potential in gaming, social platforms, and finance, and to build tools supporting decentralized vertical industries for autonomous AI agents.At the core of Scrypted is the Inori network, which aims to make AI agents fully autonomous virtual beings (AVB). Thanks to funding from the AWS Activate program, Inori has begun developing a centralized service and resource coordination layer for AI agents, built on Amazon Web Services.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Forta is a Web3 security company supported by a16z crypto, Coinbase Ventures, and other investors, which has now launched a new product called Firewall to help detect and prevent smart contract vulnerabilities.It is reported that this firewall uses a machine learning and artificial intelligence model named FORTRESS, which analyzes and detects high-risk transactions by examining transaction logs. The business model of the Forta firewall is to charge a fixed monthly fee, although Beal declined to disclose the specific amount. Initial clients include Euler, Plume, and Balmy.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the DePin project Daylight has completed a $9 million Series A funding round led by A16z Crypto. The project is dedicated to building a decentralized energy protocol on the Base blockchain. Co-founder and CEO Jason Badeaux stated that this round of financing brings Daylight's total funding to $13 million.Daylight allows users to connect energy devices and earn rewards through its app. The market currently covers New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with plans to expand to Texas and California in the future.

ChainCatcher news, according to TechCrunch, Web3 beauty startup Kiki World announced the completion of a $7 million seed round financing, with participation from a16z Crypto, Estée Lauder's New Incubation Ventures, as well as OrangeDao and 2Punks Capital. Kiki World focuses on helping consumers co-create products with the aid of Web3 technology, allowing community members to vote on the features they want before the production of beauty products.According to the RootData page, KIKI World is building a future beauty platform owned by customers, offering both physical beauty products and on-chain products, where users can vote on newly released physical beauty products, including virtual membership passes.

ChainCatcher news, according to Blockworks, the Web3 privacy system Espresso announced the completion of a $28 million Series B funding round, led by a16z crypto. Polygon, Taiko, o1Labs, StarkWare, Offchain Labs, and core contributors and strategic investors from over 30 notable ecosystem projects (covering Rollups, L2 infrastructure, interoperability, etc.) also participated in this funding round.It is reported that the new funds will be used to continue product development, expand investments in the rollup ecosystem, and grow the Espresso Systems team.According to the crypto data platform RootData, in March 2022, Espresso Systems completed a $32 million funding round, led by Greylock Partners and Electric Capital, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Blockchain Capital, and Slow Ventures.

ChainCatcher news, according to Fortune magazine, the U.S. product fundraising platform Kickstarter has completed a $100 million financing round, led by a16z crypto, with participation from Yes VC and others. In return for a16z's investment, Kickstarter will transform into a Web 3 company, moving its entire platform to the Celo blockchain, allowing users to create their own mini-platforms around niche interests like anime, attracting more people and sharing profits with Kickstarter.It is reported that Kickstarter was founded in 2009 and is a website that allows artists or creators to raise funds from the public for their new albums, board games, or comic books.

ChainCatcher news, the social DAO organization Friends With Benefits (FWB) announced that its software development company Scene Infrastructure Company (SIC, also known as FWB Labs) has completed a $3 million seed round financing, led by a16z crypto.SIC will be led by Jose Mejia and Ethan Daya, who are both long-time DAO contributors and co-founders of Zora. Scene Infrastructure is primarily focused on accelerating FWB software development and expanding the utility of the FWB token.

ChainCatcher message, the a16z crypto summer research internship program is now open for applications, lasting 10-12 weeks (05/28-08/16), with the application deadline on November 15.

ChainCatcher news, account abstraction developer Pimlico announced the completion of a $4.2 million seed round financing, led by a16z crypto.Pimlico aims to become the underlying infrastructure layer driving the transition of Ethereum to smart contract wallets.According to the crypto data platform RootData, on September 25, Pimlico announced the completion of a $1.6 million Pre-Seed round financing, led by 1confirmation, with participation from Safe, Consensys, and a dozen angel investors.

ChainCatcher news, according to official sources, Blackbird has announced the completion of a $24 million Series A funding round, led by a16z Crypto, with other investors including Amex Ventures, QED Investors, Union Square Ventures, Shine, Variant, and various restaurant groups.According to the crypto data platform RootData, Blackbird previously completed a $11 million seed funding round, co-led by Union Square Ventures, Shine Capital, and Multicoin Capital.It is reported that Blackbird is a web3 platform specifically designed for the restaurant industry, focusing on establishing direct connections between restaurants and guests through loyalty and membership services. Additionally, the company's founder is Leventhal, who previously co-founded two restaurant industry startups: Eater and Resy. Eater was acquired by Vox in 2013, and Resy was acquired by American Express in 2019.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, Web3 digital services company IYK has completed a $16.8 million seed round financing, led by a16z Crypto, with participation from 1kx, Collab Currency, Lattice Capital, and gmoney.According to the crypto data platform RootData, IYK helps brands, musicians, and creators create digital-physical experiences, reward customers and fans, and stay connected with their communities. Its products include communication chips that help tokenize physical products and events, including in the form of NFTs. IYK also provides developers with API and modular tools to further customize experiences.

ChainCatcher news, according to The Block, the decentralized information marketplace protocol Freatic has completed a $3.6 million seed round financing, led by a16z Crypto, with participation from Anagram, Archetype, Not3Lau Capital, Robot Ventures, and Arweave. Angel investors include Stefano Bernardi, Meltem Demirors, Stephane Gosselin, Jutta Steiner, and MacLane Wilkison.It is reported that the company is building a decentralized protocol that can combine the power of blockchain cryptography and game theory to accelerate the flow of real-world information about different markets.

ChainCatcher news, according to Bloomberg, crypto startup Bastion has completed a $25 million seed round financing, led by a16z crypto, with participation from Nomura Group's Laser Digital Ventures, Robot Ventures, Not Boring Capital, and others.It is reported that Bastion provides services such as cryptocurrency custody.