Funding Roundup: Drone imagery DePIN raises $11.5M

Two double-digit rounds led the funding announcements this week. The first came from Spexi, which is a DePIN for drone imagery. 

Spexi raised $11.5 million in a Series A led by Blockchange Ventures. The round comes two years after it raised a seed round. 

The firm developed “an innovative, blockchain-based ‘Fly to Earn’ network” back in 2017. It seeks to advance “the aerial imagery industry by building a scalable global network of drone pilots to capture and deliver frequently updated, data-rich earth, fully standardized imagery to both the public and private sectors — all with near-zero emissions.”

Read more: Solana Foundation exec departs for ‘the most interesting experiment in crypto’

“With our ability to scale rapidly and deliver superior data with near-zero emissions, I am proud that we are not only supporting essential government and emergency response services at a fraction of the usual cost, but also driving the future of AI and metaverse-powered technologies across industries globally,” said Bill Lakeland, CEO of Spexi.

The company said its dataset is being used to train AI models.

“Spexi has defined a new category of business by pairing better and cheaper drone imagery with the blockchain’s ability to ensure image integrity. Spexi is not simply replacing existing satellite imaging use cases, but opening entirely new markets in geospatial, insurance, AI, public safety, government, gaming and more,” Blockchange’s Ken Seiff said.

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Union Labs announced that it raised $12 million in a Series A round led by Gumi Cryptos Capital and Long Hash Capital. 

The cross-chain protocol helps blockchains communicate with each other. 

By using consensus verification, Union remains independent from centralized entities, allowing it to support any ecosystem/asset with minimal trusted actors.

“This, combined with our hyper-efficient zk architecture, allows us to deliver subsecond transfer times between chains,” Union explained. 

Other notable funding news: 

• Brighty announced a $10 million raise. Futurecraft Ventures led the round. 
• Yuga Labs acquired Tokenproof’s tech team for an undisclosed amount.
• Avant said it raised $6.5 million in a seed funding round. Avalanche and Superlayer were notable investors.
• Fiamma announced it raised $4 million in a seed round led by Faction and L2 Iterative Ventures. 
• Sekai said it raised $3.1 million in a seed round led by Hashed.

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