Venture Capital Update OKX Ventures aims to incorporate ESG and integrate AI onto blockchain

In the upcoming months, OKX Ventures is prioritizing investments in sustainability solutions and zero-knowledge technology, as stated by partner Jeff Ren.
In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, Ren highlighted the key areas of focus for the venture arm of the crypto exchange OKX in 2024 and the driving trends influencing investment decisions.
One major focus for OKX is the development of sustainable solutions within the blockchain industry. This includes projects centered around the tokenization of green assets, on-chain carbon offsetting, and the tracking and verification of ESG data and intelligence.
Another area that is gaining attention is zero-knowledge technology. OKX Ventures recently co-led a $12 million investment in ZK hardware acceleration project Cysic. The firm is also looking at the intersection of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence.
According to Ren, these projects are disrupting traditional industries and opening up new avenues for growth, such as AI-driven decision-making, predictive analytics, and personalized services. Some similar solutions in OKX’s startup portfolio include investments in MyShell, a decentralized AI consumer layer, and Flock.io, a platform for AI models and decentralized applications.
Ren advised that projects should demonstrate real use cases of blockchain technology, provide value to users and the community, and support the industry’s innovation needs.
Additionally, in the latest edition of Cointelegraph’s VC Roundup, several startups secured funding towards the end of May.
WeatherXM raised $7.7 million for its decentralized weather network, with contributions from Lightspeed Faction, Protocol Labs, Borderless Capital, Arca, and others. The funds will be used to expand the team and network, as well as continue research and development in crypto-enabled weather hardware and decentralized infrastructure.
Switchboard, a customizable oracle network, raised $7.5 million in a Series A round led by Tribe Capital and RockawayX. The platform allows users to control the data they bring on-chain, supporting applications from DeFi to on-chain gaming and gambling.
GaiaNet, an AI infrastructure project, secured $10 million in a Series Seed Round to build a decentralized network for open-source LLM and AI Agent. The funding will support the development of new AI training models and increase the number of network nodes.
DWF Labs led a $4 million funding round for oracles solution provider API3. The startup’s Total Secured Value has increased significantly since January, offering decentralized data feeds for smart contracts and decentralized APIs.
SCRYPT, a financial services startup, closed a $5 million funding round with Braza Bank, Funfair Ventures, Cabrit Capital, and Atlantic Labs as participants. The firm has seen substantial growth in its client base and trading volume, serving over 200 institutional clients and recently obtaining Swiss regulatory approval for asset management solutions.