Allora Labs, formerly Upshot, secures $3 million in strategic funding round as it transitions from NFT appraisals to launching a decentralized AI network, Allora Network.
Bollywood Fever: Allora Labs, previously known as Upshot, has successfully raised $3 million in a strategic funding round in preparation for the mainnet launch of its decentralized artificial intelligence network, Allora Network.
Investors in this funding round included Archetype, Delphi Ventures, CMS Holdings, ID Theory, and DCF God, as announced by Allora Labs on Monday. The funding round commenced in March and concluded earlier this month, according to co-founder and CEO Nick Emmons. This round, like all previous rounds for Allora, was structured as an equity round. Emmons did not disclose the valuation.
Under its former brand, Upshot, Allora Labs raised a total of $32 million, focusing on developing an NFT appraisal platform. The last funding round under the Upshot brand was a $23.3 million Series A2 in March 2022, led by Polychain Capital. Prior rounds included a $7.5 million Series A in March 2021 and a $1.25 million pre-seed round in February 2020, totaling $35 million in funding to date.
In February of this year, Upshot rebranded to Allora and pivoted from NFT appraisals to a broader vision of a decentralized AI network.
“NFT appraisals were always meant to be just an initial focus area for leveraging AI and DeFi to build more efficient and expressive financial infrastructure,” Emmons explained regarding the shift in focus.
What is Allora Network?
Allora Network is a decentralized AI network constructed as a Layer 1 blockchain on the Cosmos stack. It aims to address a fundamental issue in AI known as “siloed machine intelligence,” where machine learning models operate in isolation and cannot easily collaborate or learn from one another. Allora Network creates an environment for models to work together towards shared goals, enhancing their performance and accuracy.
The network is segmented into sub-networks called “topics,” each with a distinct goal. These goals are achieved through the efforts of three key parties: workers, reputers, and validators. Workers run machine learning models, while reputers and validators ensure network security and consensus.
Allora Network’s potential use cases span a broad range of AI-powered applications. Emmons highlighted that the network’s most immediate use cases are emerging in the DeFi sector. Applications include AI-powered DeFi agents that execute complex trading strategies, AI-powered prediction markets, and AI-powered lending and perpetual systems.
Allora Network Launch Timeline
Currently in the testnet phase, Allora Network is gearing up for its mainnet launch, anticipated to occur sometime this summer. Allora Labs, a core contributor to the network, is collaborating with the Allora Foundation on this launch. To support this effort, Allora Labs is looking to expand its team by hiring 5-7 new employees, primarily in engineering, to augment its current team of about 35 people.
When asked about the potential launch of an Allora token, Emmons indicated that the foundation is still considering how a token could support the network’s functionality. Although Allora Labs is running a points program to recognize participants in the Allora Network, there are no explicit plans to convert these points into tokens at this time.
With the recent funding and ongoing developments, Allora Labs is poised to make significant strides in the decentralized AI and DeFi spaces, offering innovative solutions and new opportunities for collaboration and efficiency in these rapidly evolving fields.
Also Read other news articles, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Celebrates Court Ruling in Securities Lawsuit as Major Victory
Ford Advances to Level 3 Autonomy, Promises Hands-Free and Eyes-Free Driving in Two Years
FASAB Clarifies Accounting Standards for Seized Crypto Assets and CBDCs
.
