OpenGradient Raises $9.5M to Build the Compute Layer for Verifiable AI — Backed by a16z Crypto and Coinbase Ventures

In Brief

• OpenGradient announced $9.5M in total funding on April 14, 2026
• Led by a16z crypto, with Coinbase Ventures, SV Angel, and Foresight Ventures participating
• Angel investors include Balaji Srinivasan (ex-Coinbase CTO) and Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon co-founder)
• The network has processed over 2 million verifiable inferences and generated 500,000+ cryptographic proofs
• $OPG Token Generation Event scheduled for April 21, 2026

The question of whether AI can be trusted is one of the defining challenges of this decade. OpenGradient thinks the answer lies on-chain.

On April 14, 2026, the New York-based startup announced $9.5 million in total funding to scale its network for open, auditable AI model execution. The round was led by a16z crypto, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, SV Angel, Foresight Ventures, Pragma, SALT, Symbolic Capital, Canonical Crypto, Black Dragon, NEAR, Celestia, and Thanefield Capital.

The angel investor list reads like a who's who of crypto infrastructure: Balaji Srinivasan (former Coinbase CTO), Illia Polosukhin (NEAR co-founder), Sandeep Nailwal (Polygon co-founder), Bruno Faviero (Magna), and Ryan Watkins of Syncracy Capital, among others.

What OpenGradient Actually Builds

OpenGradient positions itself as the "compute layer for verifiable AI" — an infrastructure that doesn't just run AI models, but proves they ran correctly.

Rather than functioning as a standalone blockchain, OpenGradient operates as a specialized AI coprocessor. Applications, blockchains, or AI agents can outsource computationally heavy tasks to their network of GPU and Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) nodes. Every inference comes with a cryptographic proof attached — allowing downstream applications to independently verify what model ran, on what input, and what it returned.

Think of it as a public audit trail for AI decisions, built directly into the infrastructure layer. The network currently hosts over 2,000 AI models from more than 100 developers, has processed 2 million+ verifiable inferences, and generated 500,000+ cryptographic proofs.

"The AI stack is consolidating around a handful of closed providers, and the applications being built on top have no way to audit what's running underneath. We're building the open alternative — infrastructure where models are inspectable, execution is provable, and developers own the intelligence their products depend on."

— Matthew Wang, Co-founder & CEO, OpenGradient

OpenGradient Announces $9.5 Million in Total Funding to Build the Compute Layer for Verifiable AI

/PRNewswire/ -- OpenGradient, the compute layer for verifiable AI, today announced $9.5 million in total funding raised to scale its network for open,…

Cision PR NewswireOpenGradient

Why This Matters for Web3

The timing is no accident. As AI agents increasingly manage crypto wallets, execute on-chain transactions, and participate in DeFi protocols, the question of accountability becomes critical. If an AI agent moves funds autonomously, who verifies that it did what it was supposed to do?

OpenGradient's answer is cryptographic proof — verifiable on-chain, accessible to anyone. Its current stack includes three layers:

• Verifiable Inference Network — attaches cryptographic proofs to every AI inference
• Decentralized Model Hub — an on-chain repository with 2,000+ models that developers can publish and monetize
• Developer Tooling — lets applications use AI with guarantees around execution, provenance, and monetization

The Bigger Picture

This round reflects a broader trend in the Web3 × AI space. According to Binance Research, 40 cents of every crypto venture capital dollar in 2025 went to AI-focused firms — more than double the 18 cents the year before. Total crypto VC reached $7.9 billion in 2025, up 44% year-over-year.

Projects like Nava (which raised $8.3M the same week) are tackling the trust problem at the transaction layer. OpenGradient is going deeper — building the compute foundation that makes AI outputs provable by design.

One More Thing: $OPG Token

Readers following OpenGradient's testnet should note: the project's $OPG token airdrop registration is live, with the Token Generation Event (TGE) scheduled for April 21, 2026. Season 1 eligible activities include community campaigns, Model Hub contributions, and testnet participation. Claims remain open through April 28.

This is not financial advice. Always do your own research.

Sources

• OpenGradient official website — opengradient.ai
• OpenGradient press release — PR Newswire, April 14, 2026
• Binance Research: AI share of crypto VC, 2025
• a16z crypto portfolio — a16zcrypto.com
• OpenGradient Model Hub — hub.opengradient.ai