From theblock by James Hunt

Quick Take

Talus Network, a high-throughput blockchain protocol designed for decentralized AI agents, has raised $6 million in a strategic funding round led by Polychain Capital at a $150 million valuation.

Foresight Ventures, Animoca, Geek Cartel and Echo also participated in the round alongside angel investors, including Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, Sentient core contributor and Symbolic Capital co-founder Kenzi Wang, 0G Labs CEO Michael Heinrich, Allora Labs CEO Nick Emmons and Nuffle Labs co-founder Atlan Tutar.

The round opened during the summer and closed at the end of Q3, the Talus team told The Block. It brings Talus’ total funding to $9 million, having previously raised a $3 million seed round, also led by Polychain Capital, which closed in February.

Talus Network declined to provide specific details on the structure of the round when asked by The Block but emphasized that Polychain’s continued investment reflected its confidence in the project.

With the fresh funding in place, Talus plans to further develop its ecosystem, including blockchain infrastructure Protochain and the Nexus framework — a toolkit for developers to build self-governing and self-executing agents.

The team did not directly address questions on the status of Talus’ token or potential airdrop. However, it outlined plans for a TAI token in its litepaper for transaction fees, resource allocation and rewards. In October, it also hinted at a token generation event following a community rewards program.

“Our community is at the heart of everything we do. We are dedicated to creating a vibrant, long-term ecosystem that empowers many different types of users to fully leverage decentralized AI agents,” the team said. “Our goal is to ensure this ecosystem grows in ways that deliver real value to its members.”

The rise of AI agents

Talus Agents autonomously manage smart contracts and perform tasks across various sectors, including portfolio optimization and MEV protection in DeFi, treasury management and grant allocation for DAOs and NPC management and automated testing in gaming, the team explained. The agents are designed to become onchain assets co-owned and monetized by users at the intersection of AI and crypto.

The rise of autonomous AI agents is an increasing influence on crypto's cultural landscape, used as the main characters for specific VC-style memefunds such as ai16z — unaffiliated with the well-known Silicon Valley firm of a similar name.

“AI agents are beginning to participate directly in markets as active economic entities,” Polychain Capital founder Olaf Carlson-Wee said. “With Talus, these agents gain a decentralized foundation to own assets, trade and interact autonomously. Talus is leading in building a new economy where AI-driven agents are integral to the digital landscape.”

Talus leverages the Sui Move programming language and MoveVM for its blockchain infrastructure, selected for its performance and suitability for decentralized AI agents. “The Move stack is the most capable of seamlessly integrating AI with a smart contract environment. Move's object-centric approach, as well as its emphasis on safety and security, empowers developers to deploy AI agents that navigate complex market scenarios and make optimal decisions, all within a framework that ensures these agents can be owned, traded and monetized transparently,” the team told The Block.

Talus’s platform extends this functionality with a modular tech stack, including the Nexus agentic framework, a Python SDK and off-chain services — designed to provide developers with the flexibility, performance and security required to build their decentralized AI solutions.

“We're building Talus to challenge the dominance of today's centralized tech scene, where just a few companies hold the power to change the rules at will,” Talus Network founder Mike Hanono said. “Agents on crypto infrastructure will lead consumer adoption for AI and crypto, and Talus is committed to keeping this shift decentralized. This funding moves us closer to creating an open, resilient ecosystem.”

Launching an ‘AI dating experience’

As an example of the technology, Talus is also launching “AI Bae,” an “interactive and gamified” blockchain application that offers an “AI dating experience.” 

Via the app, users can engage with AI companions known as “Baes” — a casual term used to refer to someone special — appearing as a personalized avatar with “distinct personality traits” that aim to align with users’ social interests.

It works by users connecting their TikTok accounts to generate their unique Baes, with the app featuring real-time chat, Polymarket-style betting and meme-token elements — allowing users to bet on relationship outcomes and even turn their Baes into tokens, the team said. AI Bae is set to launch by the end of the year, with a waitlist already open.