Verida Raises $5 Million to Protect User Data Amid Rise in Generative AI

Funding Announcement

Verida has successfully raised $5 million in a seed funding round to address growing concerns over user data privacy in the age of Big Tech AI. The round included participation from O-DE Capital Partners, ChaiTech Ventures, Simurg Labs, Gate Labs, HASH CIB, Bison Capital, Amesten Capital, and Mysten Labs’ Evan Cheng. Additionally, funds were raised through community pre-sales of the Verida Storage Credit token.

Empowering Users

The peer-to-peer network aims to empower users with more control over their data, countering Big Tech companies' efforts to utilize user data for training AI models. Verida’s mission is to provide alternative data storage solutions for internet users who want to prevent their data from being used in AI training.

Innovative Solutions

Verida plans to disrupt the AI landscape by putting users back in control of their data, thereby enabling more secure, privacy-preserving personalized AI. The freshly raised capital will be used to develop Verida's personal data ownership infrastructure, offering decentralized storage and encryption for users’ personal information. Data will be distributed across numerous nodes managed by different network participants.

Market Context

As the AI market continues to grow, concerns have risen about the use of internet users’ data in training language models. Recently, social media platform Meta announced plans to utilize its European users’ data to enhance its AI models. Similarly, X (formerly Twitter) updated its privacy policy to include the use of users' biometric data for AI training.

Valuation and Future Plans

Verida’s latest funding round brings its valuation to $50 million. The company is poised to unlock more secure, privacy-preserving personalized AI for everyone, marking a significant step forward in protecting user data in the evolving digital landscape.