Announcing the Nine Visionary Teams Leading the Future of AIFi
We are delighted to introduce the nine pioneering teams that have been selected to join the Mode AIFi Accelerator, each embodying the spirit of innovation at the intersection of decentralized finance (DeFi) and artificial intelligence (AI). These teams are not just building products - they are crafting the future of finance, harnessing AI to unlock new possibilities in automation, security, and accessibility. Together, we will chart new territory, transforming how billions of users interact with DeFi.
A wide variety of projects will be deploying to Mode, including fully onchain AI Agent Infrastructure, DeFi agent training platforms, AI Asset Management, Security Agents, AI generated front ends for protocols, Verifiable AI leveraging ZK and TEE and even no code model training from your phone.
In the months ahead, Mode’s core contributors and partners will work hand-in-hand with these nine visionary teams, accelerating their journey toward realizing the full potential of AIFi.
The Next Billion Users Are Agents
At the heart of Mode’s vision lies a bold premise: the future of DeFi belongs to intelligent agents acting on behalf of users. These agents will simplify the complexities of yield management, security, and governance, operating autonomously to unlock financial opportunities at scale. To bring this vision to life, we are developing secure agent operating systems and frameworks that will empower developers to create and manage these agents seamlessly.
AI Agent Infrastructure on Mode
Among the trailblazers in this space is Talus Network (Website: talus.network, Twitter: @TalusNetwork), creators of a Layer 1 blockchain designed for multi-agent systems. Their Nexus framework aggregates resources to enable the creation of fully on-chain agents. Paired with a Python SDK, Talus is bridging the divide between Web2 and Web3 development. Having secured $3M in a pre-seed round led by Polychain, with additional support from Dao5, TRGC, and Hash3, Talus is well-positioned to redefine agent infrastructure. Founder Mike, with a background in applied data science, brings a wealth of experience from his tenure at Cowri Labs.
Intentify (Website: intentify.network, Twitter: @intentify_eth) is building an operating system for autonomous agents, with a custom language—IAML—that allows developers to define secure policies for agentic behavior. Their Intentify Engine ensures agents act within predefined parameters, while the Agent Store and Agent Portfolio provide users with intuitive tools to manage these autonomous agents across DeFi protocols. Founders Daniel and Thomas, who have a strong foundation in machine learning and blockchain architecture, lead this exciting initiative. Intentify recently closed its seed round and is already making waves in the agent-driven DeFi space.
AI Unlocking a New DeFi Paradigm
AI is poised to revolutionize the DeFi landscape, transforming it from manual, user-driven processes to systems where agents autonomously manage financial strategies. This transition promises to lower barriers to entry, offering personalized decision-making and efficiency at a scale we’ve never seen before.
Training Platform for DeFi Agents
Almanak (Website: almanak.co, Twitter: @Almanak__) is using a comprehensive set of tools, including their Blockchain-Based Testing and Optimization Environment, which allows users to fork any EVM into the cloud to test and refine financial strategies in realistic blockchain conditions. Their Blockchain-Based Monte Carlo Simulator runs thousands of scenarios to evaluate risk/reward ratios, while their Blockchain-Based Agent Training System continuously tests strategies to find the best-performing one. Almanak also prioritizes privacy, operating off-chain to prevent reverse engineering of strategies. Michael, the CEO, has guided Almanak in raising $6.5M, with backing from Delphi Labs, Hashkey, Matrix Partners, and others.
AI Asset Management
Following closely is Amplifi (Website: amplifi.fi, Twitter: @Amplifi_Fi), which has developed an AI-powered cross-chain asset management protocol. Amplifi’s technology continuously analyzes on-chain data, dynamically distributing assets across ecosystems to optimize returns. With an emphasis on high, stable, and low-risk yields, their system is making DeFi more accessible to the everyday user. Founder Jeff, a seasoned leader with deep experience in scaling crypto startups, has guided Amplifi to an impressive start, with 5,000 users already on their private mainnet waitlist.
Solving Existing DeFi Challenges with AI
While DeFi has opened a world of financial innovation, it also faces persistent challenges: security vulnerabilities, laborious auditing processes, and the complexity of navigating DeFi platforms. Additionally, user interfaces are often too intricate for those new to the ecosystem. At Mode, we see AI not as a hammer in search of a nail, but as a key to unlocking solutions to these very real challenges.
Security Agents
QuillAI (Website: quillai.network, Twitter: @QuillAI_Network) is advancing security within DeFi through its marketplace of AI-driven security agents. These agents offer continuous auditing, formal verification, and real-time monitoring, allowing developers to integrate security directly into their dApps. QuillAI’s intelligent systems evolve by analyzing blockchain transaction patterns, identifying new threats before they become systemic issues. The team, emerging from Quill Audits, has bootstrapped its development and has already launched two live products—Shield and Check—which are currently safeguarding DeFi ecosystems.
Ai Generated Front Ends
FortyTwo (Website: fortytwo.money, Twitter: @fortytwo_money) tackles DeFi’s user interface complexity by enabling developers to upload their smart contracts, allowing machine learning algorithms to extract relevant information and generate an appropriate UI. Developers can then tweak the features of the UI using natural language prompts, offering seamless customization. This generative UI approach simplifies the creation of DeFi front ends, lowering barriers for both developers and users. Daniel, the CEO, has a background in finance, venture capital, and fintech, while Maurits, CTO, brings deep expertise in blockchain engineering, having worked on smart contract research and development across multiple blockchain platforms.
Value Creation Between AI and Crypto
The convergence of AI and blockchain is a two-way street. Blockchain’s unique properties—a decentralized, permissionless network that reduces networking costs, immutability that guarantees data integrity, and token incentives that enable value capture through financialization—offer AI models a foundation for greater security, scalability, and transparency. In turn, AI’s ability to automate complex tasks creates more efficient, intelligent blockchain ecosystems.
Verifiable AI computation
Inference Labs (Website: inferencelabs.com, Twitter: @inference_labs) is leveraging zero-knowledge proof (ZK) verification to enable off-chain AI computations with complete transparency and privacy. Their zk cluster on Bittensor is already a top performer, having garnered more than 7,000 TAO from operating their subnet. With $5M in backing from Delphi Ventures, Mechanism Capital, DACM, and others, they are well on their way to revolutionizing scalable AI verification. Co-founders Colin Gagich and Ron Chan, with their backgrounds in robotics, AI, and blockchain, are pushing the boundaries of decentralized, verifiable AI.
Aizel (Website: aizelnetwork.com, Twitter: @aizel_network) is pioneering TEE-enabled verifiable AI on-chain, ensuring that AI computations are secure, transparent, and tamper-proof. This innovation enables decentralized applications to operate with trusted AI agents. Aizel has raised $3M, driven by a talented team of blockchain veterans, including Grein, Jeremy, and YL, whose expertise spans blockchain strategy, AI systems, and venture capital.
No code model training, from your phone
Cerbo AI (Website: cerboai.com, Twitter: @CerboAI) is democratizing AI development through their no-code platform, enabling users to build, fine-tune, and deploy machine learning models directly from their mobile devices. With federated learning at its core, Cerbo AI leverages edge device data to train global models securely on-chain. Backed by $1.35M from Foresight Ventures, and led by former engineers from Google, Microsoft, Cosmos, and Binance, Cerbo AI is shaping the future of decentralized AI.
A Collaborative Journey to the Future
In the months ahead, Mode’s core contributors and partners will work hand-in-hand with these nine visionary teams, accelerating their journey toward realizing the full potential of AIFi. Together, we will explore how AI can seamlessly integrate with DeFi to create autonomous systems that solve real-world challenges, unlocking a future of more intelligent, secure, and scalable financial interactions.
The Future of AIFi
The Mode AIFi Accelerator marks the beginning of a profound shift. Each of these nine teams brings with them a unique perspective, deep technical expertise, and a shared vision for the future of finance. As we move forward, we will continue to support their groundbreaking efforts, propelling the integration of AI and blockchain to redefine the financial systems of tomorrow.
Stay tuned for updates on these extraordinary teams as they shape the future of decentralized finance, where intelligence meets decentralization.
The pace of development in the AI x Crypto space is faster than ever before. Get in touch with the MODE team and join the AIFi chat to stay up to date, or join the core Mode community Super and Giga Chad TG Groups