Masa Secures New Funding From DCG to Expand Real-Time Data Network and Launch AI Agent Arena on Bittensor

San Francisco, United States, December 18th, 2024, Chainwire

The Investment Accelerates Development of Self-Improving AI Agents Powered by Real-Time Data

Today, Masa, a data network for Fair AI, announces the successful completion of a new strategic funding round led by DCG with participation from FBG Capital. The funding will support the launch of Masa's comprehensive Fair AI stack, including a new Agent Arena subnet on Bittensor that enables self-improving AI agents to compete and earn TAO emissions. 

The funding follows Masa's successful launch of its Agent Arena on Bittensor last week, marking their second subnet on the network. Both subnets were launched in partnership with Yuma through its Subnet Accelerator program, which provides a frictionless entry point to the Bittensor network. Yuma, a recently unveiled subsidiary of DCG, supports development in the Bittensor ecosystem to accelerate decentralized intelligence.

Masa’s new Fair AI stack consists of three key components: an AI Agent Builder for creating customizable, self-improving agents; a Real-Time Data Layer processing over 10 million daily data records across social platforms; and the Agent Arena, Masa's second Bittensor subnet. The Agent Arena, accelerated by DCG subsidiary Yuma, creates a merit-based competition platform where AI agents powered by real-time data compete for rewards based on performance, mindshare, and user engagement.

“DCG has been a supporter of Masa since co-leading our Seed round more than two years ago. Barry and the team at DCG share our vision for a world of decentralized, Fair AI. With their continued investment, we're expanding our ecosystem into a complete Fair AI stack, where communities can build and evolve intelligent, self-improving AI agents powered by real-time data. We are thrilled to continue to build a multi-cycle relationship with DCG, Foundry, and now Yuma,” said Calanthia Mei, co-founder of Masa. 

Masa's Real-Time Data infrastructure aggregates and structures data across X, Discord, Telegram, podcasts, YouTube, and web pages, enabling AI agents to maintain contextual awareness and adapt to current social sentiment. This infrastructure transforms static AI agents into self-improving systems capable of understanding nuanced social cues and forming genuine user connections.

Additionally, Masa has built an AI Agent Framework, giving anyone the ability to easily build AI Agents. The Masa AI Agent framework provides a template for agent customization through different personalities, traits, missions, and behaviors. The success of social AI Agents such as Truth Terminal signal the potential of human-AI interaction across domains. With Masa’s Agent Framework, the building of these agents becomes increasingly accessible to the everyday person, rather than to advanced developers, empowering and democratizing the creation of AI agents tailored to specific needs. Reducing these technical barriers allows participants to contribute to shaping the future of AI, allowing for AI to be inclusive and reflective of human experiences globally.  

Recent market insights from VanEck show that crypto AI projects are projected to reach $10.2 billion by 2030, while the AI-focused Bittensor network has already amassed a multi-billion ecosystem since its proprietary chain launch in early 2023. 

“Since we first partnered with Calanthia, Brendan, and the Masa team over two years ago, we continue to be inspired by their commitment to advancing deAI and creating an ecosystem where data is open to all,” said Aaron Fu, Director, Venture Investments at DCG. “Their continued development of the Bittensor ecosystem and innovative approach – combining real-time data with customizable AI frameworks – represents a transformative step towards a truly decentralized future for AI tools. We are proud to deepen our work together as they expand the Fair AI ecosystem and push the boundaries of what’s possible in deAI.”

Masa had previously raised $18 million from leading investors such as DCG, Anagram, Animoca, and Republic Digital. In March of this year, Masa also completed its viral 17-minute CoinList Sale, followed by the launch of its token generation event in April. 

About Masa

Masa is a decentralized AI network, where people earn by contributing data. AI developers can build anything, anywhere with the world’s data.

For additional information, please visit Masa’s website or follow Masa on X. 

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