Programmable blockchains are no longer in their infancy, and smart contract blockchains like Ethereum and Solana are becoming data rich ecosystems primed to unleash crypto-native AI. 

At Archetype, we have been fascinated by first principles approaches to marrying blockchains and AI, and Pond’s crypto-native ethos resonated with us from our first conversation. 

Pond is building its own foundation model leveraging rich onchain data to accelerate the collective development of net-new applications and extend AI ownership into the hands of developers, builders, and users around the world.

Founded by Dylan Zhang and Bill Shi, Pond is unleashing the frontier onchain model layer. Developed using a graph-based neural network (GNN) architecture, Pond’s model is specifically built to capture a deep understanding of onchain data.

Where conventional LLMs predict words based on historical inputs, Pond’s GNN model processes and extracts graphical data to predict complex relationships from a blockchain’s graph structure and corresponding attributes. This approach illuminates the dependencies and interactions between onchain actors, unlocking predictions based on the transaction activity and relationships amongst nodes, accounts, and smart contracts.

Pond’s model ecosystem ultimately seeks to unlock the agentic economy with a dynamic intelligence layer, equipping agents with unparalleled context and real-time insights into the foundational infrastructure on which they’ll natively run.

Pond is already using its model to expand the frontier of defi, from assessing market sentiment for price predictions to mitigating risk by analyzing unusual interaction frequencies, behaviors, and fund flows. Likewise, Pond is working with the leading onchain social ecosystems to build personalized recommendation mechanisms with an architecture inspired by the same AI systems powering today’s web2 social media platforms.

A new wave of intelligent protocols and applications now able to tap into Pond’s crypto-native model layer are set to reimagine crypto’s user experience by unlocking transformative onchain capabilities on par with the best consumer applications in web2.

We are incredibly excited to partner with Dylan, Bill, and the entire Pond team in leading Pond’s $7.5M Seed round to accelerate their mission of building crypto’s foundational AI model. 

To get involved with Pond’s model ecosystem, check out Frontier—an ongoing series of competitions to train the most powerful web3 models. Improve your skills and earn great bonuses at the same time!

Pond is also hiring across the board—you can find openings at https://cryptopond.xyz/career.

Pond Website | Pond on X | Pond Docs | Pond Telegram

—

Disclaimer:

This post is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any investment and should not be used in the evaluation of the merits of making any investment decision. It should not be relied upon for accounting, legal or tax advice or investment recommendations. You should consult your own advisers as to legal, business, tax, and other related matters concerning any investment or legal matters. Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by Archetype. This post reflects the current opinions of the authors and is not made on behalf of Archetype or its affiliates and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of Archetype, its affiliates or individuals associated with Archetype. The opinions reflected herein are subject to change without being updated.