Kaito

About Kaito

Kaito is an AI-driven information and search platform tailored for the Web3 and cryptocurrency markets. Founded in 2022 by Yu Hu, a former Citadel quantitative trader, and Yunzhong He, the Seattle-based company aims to solve the problem of information fragmentation in the crypto sector. The team includes professionals with backgrounds from Citadel, Silicon Valley AI engineering, and blockchain development.

The company's core product, Kaito Pro, is an AI-powered search engine that aggregates and analyzes vast amounts of unstructured data from numerous sources, including social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Discord, governance forums, research papers, news sites, and audio content such as podcasts and conference transcripts. By leveraging large language models (LLMs) and real-time analytics, the platform transforms this data into structured, actionable insights for investors, researchers, and developers. This allows users to track market trends, conduct sentiment analysis, and gain a comprehensive understanding of specific topics or tokens efficiently. Kaito's business model is primarily subscription-based, offering different tiers of access for both individual retail users and institutions, with prices starting at over $800 per month.

Kaito has introduced a framework called Information Finance (InfoFi), which combines AI with market dynamics to manage how information, attention, and capital are distributed. A key component of this is the "Yap" points system, which tokenizes attention and rewards users for creating high-quality content and engaging with the community, creating a more equitable attention economy. The platform also features Kaito Connect, an InfoFi network that facilitates a transparent distribution of value between creators, users, and brands.

Kaito has secured significant funding through two major rounds. In February 2023, it raised $5.3 million in a seed round led by Dragonfly, with participation from firms like Sequoia Capital and Jane Street. This was followed by a $5.5 million Series A round in June 2023, co-led by Superscrypt and Spartan, which brought the company's valuation to $87.5 million. The company also launched its native token, KAITO, to facilitate governance, staking, and payments within its ecosystem.