London-based AI startup Assisterr, which offers a community-owned alternative to the AI monopoly in big tech, has secured $1.7 million in a pre-seed funding round from Web3.com Ventures, Moonhill Capital, Contango, Outlier Ventures, and Lucid Drakes Ventures.
- Founded in 2023 by Ukrainians Nik Havryliak and Dmytro Dimenko, Assisterr aims to change the AI industry by leveraging the Solana blockchain to develop small language models (SLMs). This approach allows communities to collaboratively manage, aggregate, and monetize their data and expertise in specialized fields. SLMs are AI models designed for edge devices, providing efficient performance and enabling users to drive AI advancements by focusing on specific domain tasks.
- Since its inception, Assisterr has gained 150,000 registered users and launched over 60 small language models for leading Web3 protocols like Solana, Optimism, 0g.ai, and NEAR.
- Earlier this month, Assisterr joined the Google AI Startup program, securing a $350,000 grant. This two-year collaboration will help Assisterr build a strong infrastructure for AI applications powered by community-owned small language models (SLMs).
Details of the deal
- The investment round saw participation from various investment firms, including Web3.com Ventures, Prague-based VC MOONHILL CAPITAL, Contango, London-based Outlier Ventures, Decasonic, Zephyrus Capital, Wise3 Ventures, Saxon, Vietnam-based VC GFI Ventures, German VC X Ventures, Koyamaki Ventures, and Lucid Drakes Ventures.
- Several business angels also participated in the funding round, including Michael Heinrich, co-founder and CEO of 0g.ai; Mark Rydon, co-founder and CEO of Aethir; Nader Dabit, Director of Developer Relations at Eigen Labs; Anthony Lesoismier-Geniaux, co-founder of SwissBorg; and Ethan Francis, Head of Developer Relationships at Particle Network.
“Our platform manages the entire lifecycle of SLM training, enabling features like data provenance tracking, fine-tuning, and the launch of SLM-powered Agents. Web3 component allows data-owners to contribute their data and expertise to domain-specific SLMs and capture the value from such contributions,” CEO and co-founder of Assisterr, Nick Havryliak, stated.
- The fresh funding will help Assisterr advance its protocol development, forge strategic partnerships, and foster ecosystem growth through an incentive program for model builders and data contributors.
