Thiel strikes again: $85 million bet on Open Source AGI, who is he trying to overthrow this time?

When PayPal godfather Peter Thiel personally invests in an AI project, it is definitely not just "another AI startup." Sentient AGI has secured $85 million in seed funding, with over 20 top VCs participating. What signal does this send?

Why did Thiel choose Sentient?

When it comes to Peter Thiel, this man's investment instincts have always been sharp. From being the first external investor in Facebook, to co-founding Palantir, and more recently making moves in the crypto space, he always seems to place his bets on the future while others are still on the sidelines.

This time, Sentient AGI was able to secure an $85 million lead investment from Founders Fund, not because they wrote a beautiful BP. The key lies in the fact that this project hits the core of Thiel's investment logic: monopoly breakthrough.

One point that Thiel repeatedly emphasizes in "Zero to One" is that truly valuable companies are those that establish monopolies in a certain field. In the current AI sector, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic almost monopolize everything, leaving ordinary players with no opportunity.

But @SentientAGI wants to play a completely different game: Open Source AGI.

This is not an ordinary seed round.

A $85 million seed round is a significant bombshell in any arena. It is important to note that most AI companies' Series A rounds are around this figure. More importantly, the lineup of investors in this round is nothing short of an all-star team from the crypto + AI fields:

Lead Investor:
Founders Fund (Peter Thiel)
Pantera Capital (crypto big brother )
Framework Ventures ( DeFi Expert )
The participating parties include but are not limited to:
Arrington Capital
The Spartan Group
Delphi Ventures
HashKey Capital
Robot Ventures
Hack VC

What does this lineup tell us? These most discerning funds have also taken a liking to this project.

Pantera Capital has been investing in Bitcoin since 2013, and Framework Ventures is a leading investment institution in the DeFi space. These individuals have seen too many projects, and those that can make them open their wallets are definitely not simple.
Benchmarking against OpenAI? Not even close.

Many people see "Open Source AGI" and think it is comparable to OpenAI, but I believe this understanding is too superficial.

What is OpenAI's model?
Burning money to train large models, and then charging through APIs. This is a typical centralized monopoly model, and the ultimate beneficiaries are OpenAI's shareholders.

What does Sentient want to do?
Establish an Open Source AGI ecosystem that allows developers, data providers, and computing providers to earn profits through blockchain mechanisms. This is not about taking OpenAI's job, but rather redefining the distribution mechanism of the AI economy.

In short, OpenAI wants to monopolize AI, while Sentient aims to decentralize AI.

This is why Thiel invests. He has always believed that technology should liberate humanity, not allow a few tech giants to control everything. From PayPal to Palantir, he invests in companies that can challenge the existing order.

What does 85 million dollars mean in the current market environment?

Compare the financing of other AI projects:
OpenAI's latest round: $6.5 billion (but a valuation of $157 billion)
Anthropic: $4 billion
Perplexity: 100 million USD

Sentient's $85 million seed round has surpassed the total early financing of many AI unicorns. This has given them enough ammunition to challenge the existing landscape.

More importantly, with the backing of these top VCs, Sentient will have a much smoother time in subsequent financing, talent recruitment, and partnership expansion. In the resource-driven game of AI, resources are more important than technology.

Personal Summary

As an old investor in the crypto circle who has been around for a few years, I've seen too many projects brag and then go to zero. But I think the Sentient project deserves serious attention.

Why?

The investors are reliable.
Thiel, Pantera, and Framework are not easy to fool.
The timing is right.
The issue of AI monopoly is becoming increasingly apparent, and the call for Open Source is growing louder.
The narrative is clear.
crypto+AI is not for hype, but it can really solve problems.
Execution Team.
Has practical experience like Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.

Of course, this is not investment advice. But if you are going to bet on the future of crypto + AI, #SentientAGI is definitely an option you cannot ignore.

Lastly, let me say this: when someone like Thiel starts to heavily invest in a certain direction, either he has lost his mind, or the times are about to change. Historically speaking, the latter is more likely.

#KAITO kaitoyap @KaitoAI