Sahara Raises $6 Million Seed Round to Democratize Global Knowledge Capital Access Through AI and Blockchain Technologies, Led by Polychain Capital
Los Angeles, United States, March 5th, 2024, Chainwire
Sahara’s AI network empowers individuals and businesses to own, monetize, and scale proprietary knowledge through privacy-preserving and personalized Knowledge Agents.
Sahara, a decentralized AI network that transforms how knowledge is owned, shared, and monetized globally, today announced its $6 Million seed funding round led by Polychain Capital with participation from Samsung Next, Matrix Partners, Motherson Group, dao5, Geekcartel, Canonical Crypto, Nomad Capital, Dispersion Capital, Alumni Ventures, Tangent Ventures, and Coho Deeptech. Angel investor Sandeep Nailwal also participated in the round.
Sahara is a trustless, permissionless, and privacy-centric network that enables the creation of customized, autonomous Knowledge Agent (Sahara KA) for individuals and businesses. By utilizing this decentralized network, everyone can leverage their knowledge capital to explore monetization and automation opportunities through AI. Adopting a decentralized AI strategy is essential for safeguarding data sovereignty and reducing the hazards linked to centralized control of data.
“Human-AI collaboration is at an inflection point that AI, as powered by human data, can automate more parts of our life,” said Professor Sean Ren, Co-Founder and CEO of Sahara. “It becomes critically important to protect the privacy of users, guarantee the ownership and provenance of the data and model, and establish a decentralized and trustless network for human-AI collaboration.”
Co-founded in May 2023 by a team of experts from the AI and web3 industries, Sahara is led by Professor Sean Ren and Tyler Zhou. Having earned accolades including Samsung AI Researcher of the Year, MIT TR Innovator under 35 (Asia Pacific), and Forbes’ Asia 30 Under 30, Sean is a Professor at USC and has contributed significantly to AI research and innovation. Additionally, Tyler has extensive experience in the blockchain industry as the previous Investment Director at Binance Labs.
“Harnessing the synergy between blockchain and AI technologies powers our mission to transform knowledge distribution into a fair, secure, and accessible system where information is not just shared but owned and rewarded,” said Tyler Zhou, Co-Founder and COO of Sahara. “We hope that our technology will be a stepping stone into the future adoption of human-AI collaboration in order to advance human potential, respect user sovereignty, and promote a sustainable digital economy. ”
Built to power human-AI collaboration, Sahara’s product suite encompasses infrastructure and applications that support business, consumer, research, and developer use cases. First to launch, Sahara Knowledge Agent (KA) and Sahara Data are the two cornerstone products. Sahara KA is an AI that extends far beyond conversational capabilities, autonomously analyzing both external and internal proprietary data to offer reliable decision-making tailored to specific needs. Sahara Data provides high-value data services for AI model training, addressing concerns about security and privacy in data handling. Since its inception, Sahara has attracted over 30 enterprise clients ranging from Fortune 500 to unicorn startups, including Microsoft, MIT, Motherson Group, and USC.
“We are extremely impressed with the expertise and research backing Sahara’s network,” said Luke Pearson of Polychain Capital. “The integration of blockchain technology with AI by Sahara not only enhances privacy and security but also ensures the traceability and acknowledgment of contributions. Sahara’s innovative approach will unlock unparalleled opportunities for individuals and businesses alike, setting a new standard in the way we own, share, and monetize knowledge in the digital age.”
Sahara plans to utilize the newly acquired funds to expand its team and enhance its portfolio of AI and blockchain-enabled products. In the next year, besides Sahara KA and Data, the network will grow to encompass Sahara Vault, Sahara ID, and Sahara Network for individuals and businesses to navigate freely in the Sahara ecosystem.
For more information on Sahara and to get in touch, please visit saharalabs.ai or follow us on Twitter.
About Sahara
Sahara is revolutionizing human-AI collaboration by building an AI network that democratizes fair and universal access to global knowledge capital. Through its suite of trustless, permissionless, and privacy-preserving AI products, Sahara empowers individuals and businesses with unparalleled opportunities for leveraging, utilizing, and monetizing their knowledge capital. Sahara has secured the backing of prominent web3 and AI investors, including Polychain Capital, Matrix Partners, and Samsung Next.