DeepNode, a rising player in decentralized artificial intelligence, has closed $5 million in new funding as it works to build an open, community-powered AI ecosystem on Base, the Ethereum Layer-2 network. The investment was raised across two rounds and will support the company’s push toward a mainnet launch expected by the end of Q1 2026.
The project positions itself as infrastructure for “open intelligence,” providing a place where AI developers, compute providers, and validators collaborate without depending on centralized tech giants. Anyone contributing useful models or computation can earn rewards through DeepNode’s economic system.
Two Funding Rounds, Growing Valuations
According to the company, DeepNode raised $2 million in its seed round at a $25 million valuation, followed by a $3 million strategic round valuing the project at $75 million. The seed round included community contributors and network validators such as WildSageLabs from RoundTable21, Rizzo from DNA, and infrastructure partner Gateway.FM.
The strategic funding brought in a lineup of Web3 and AI-focused backers. Participating investors include Blockchain Founders Fund, Side Door Ventures, TBV, IOBC Capital, Fomo Ventures, and Nestoris. The company says the diverse mix of participants reflects a growing appetite for decentralized AI networks that behave more like open marketplaces than closed corporate systems.
A New Way to Reward AI: Proof-of-Work Relevance
At the core of DeepNode’s system is its Proof-of-Work Relevance (PoWR) mechanism. Instead of rewarding participants for raw computing power, PoWR measures and compensates the real-world usefulness of each AI model. Models effectively compete based on how well they perform tasks, and contributors earn emissions tied to that performance.
This approach, the team says, enables a wide range of predictive and decision-making use cases — from healthcare diagnostics to fraud detection to automated crypto trading — while ensuring that incentives stay aligned with actual utility.
Building on Base for Speed and Affordability
DeepNode has chosen Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 network, to host its infrastructure. By leveraging Ethereum security and Base’s low-cost architecture, the platform aims to keep transaction fees under a cent while remaining scalable for global usage.
The company also noted that several foundation-supported domains are already being developed across different sectors as part of its broader ecosystem rollout.
Looking Ahead to 2026
With a mainnet launch targeted for late Q1 2026, DeepNode aims to create an AI marketplace where builders fully control their intellectual property, contributors are rewarded fairly for performance, and enterprises can participate privately while benefiting from shared network effects.
If successful, DeepNode could become one of the first large-scale decentralized AI networks running on Base — and a compelling alternative to centralized AI providers.
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