Venice AI at a glance
As of- Founded
- 2024[4]
- [1] Latest valuation: TechCrunch, July 1, 2026
- [2] Equity raised: Sum of the 1 sourced equity round in the funding history below (debt, tender offers and rumored rounds excluded), July 1, 2026
- [3] Lead investors: TechCrunch, July 1, 2026
- [4] Founded: TechCrunch (retrieved July 1, 2026)
What Venice AI does
Venice AI runs a privacy-focused chatbot and API that gives users access to more than 200 AI models while letting them keep their privacy.[1] Venice hosts open-source models on its own data centers and routes other queries to closed models such as those from OpenAI and Anthropic.[1] User input is encrypted client-side and routed through an external proxy, with no data stored on Venice's systems.[1] In July 2026 it reported more than 3 million active users and an average of 1.7 million API calls per day.[1] Voorhees said only about 8% of users pay with crypto.[1] Crypto-focused firm Dragonfly led the round, with Coinbase Ventures and North Island Ventures participating.[1] Venice plans to use the money to buy GPUs and build its own data centers instead of leasing GPUs.[1]
Business model and customers
It makes money from consumer subscriptions and paid API access, and from a token called VVV that developers can stake to reserve computing capacity.[2] The company is profitable, with annualized run-rate revenue of more than $70 million, Voorhees told TechCrunch.[1] It has about 45 employees, up from roughly 15 a year earlier, and operates as a remote team.[2]
Leadership
- It was founded in 2024 by CEO Erik Voorhees, the cryptocurrency entrepreneur behind the ShapeShift exchange, and Jesse Proudman, who earlier sold cloud company Blue Box Group to IBM.[2]
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Company Snapshot
Venice AI is an AI infra company, based in San Francisco, California, USA, founded 2024 by Erik Voorhees.
Recent changes
- Jul 1, 2026Jul 1, 2026Raised $65M Series A at a $1B valuation TechCrunch
- Jul 1, 2026Jul 1, 2026First reported valuation: $1B TechCrunch
- Jul 1, 2026Jul 1, 2026New investor: Dragonfly Capital TechCrunch
- Jul 1, 2026Jul 1, 2026New investor: North Island Ventures TechCrunch
- Jul 1, 2026Jul 1, 2026New investor: Coinbase Ventures TechCrunch
Earlier changes (2)
- Jul 1, 2026Jul 1, 2026Venice AI Becomes a Unicorn With $65M Series A as Its Privacy-First Platform Takes Off Pulse story
- Jul 1, 2026Jul 1, 2026Venice AI Becomes a Unicorn With $65M Series A as Its Privacy-First Platform Takes Off Pulse story
Funding history
1 equity event · newest first · sources dated per row| Date | Round | Amount | Valuation | Lead investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2026 | Series A | $65M | $1Bpost-money | TechCrunch |
Equity only. “Equity raised” above sums the rounds with a dated, linked source; rumored rounds, tender offers and secondary sales are listed but not counted, and debt financing is listed separately.
How Venice AI has been funded
On July 1, 2026 Venice raised a $65 million Series A at a $1 billion valuation, its first outside funding.[1]
Investors
Latest Pulse
- Jul 2, 2026Crunchbase: The Week's 10 Biggest Funding Rounds, Led by Joulent's $1.75B Energy RaiseCrunchbase News' roundup of the week's 10 biggest funding rounds (June 27-July 2) was led by Houston-based energy infrastructure provider Joulent's $1.75 billion raise from National Grid Ventures, aimed squarely at AI and compute-intensive industries' power needs. Together AI's $800M Series C and Venice AI's $65M unicorn round both placed inside the top 10, alongside biotech, legal-tech, sports and video-AI rounds spanning a genuinely broad set of categories beyond pure frontier-model AI.→
- Jul 1, 2026Venice AI Becomes a Unicorn With $65M Series A as Its Privacy-First Platform Takes OffVenice AI closed a $65 million Series A on July 1 at a $1 billion valuation, led by crypto-focused VC firm Dragonfly with Coinbase Ventures and North Island Ventures participating. The platform aggregates access to 200+ AI models with client-side encryption and no server-side data storage, and says it's already profitable at more than $70 million in annualized revenue with 3 million active users.→
- Jul 1, 2026Venice AI Becomes a Unicorn With $65M Series A as Its Privacy-First Platform Takes OffVenice AI, the privacy-first generative AI platform founded by Erik Voorhees, closed its first-ever external raise on July 1: a $65 million Series A at a $1 billion valuation, led by crypto-focused firm Dragonfly with Coinbase Ventures and North Island Ventures participating. The company is already profitable, with annualized run-rate revenue above $70 million and 3 million-plus active users.→
Coverage Timeline
newest firstAll Coverage
Value Add Research
Related Companies
Shared investors
Venice AI FAQ
What is Venice AI's valuation?
On July 1, 2026 Venice raised a $65 million Series A at a $1 billion valuation, its first outside funding.[1]
How much revenue does Venice AI make?
Venice AI is profitable, with annualized run-rate revenue of more than $70 million, Voorhees told TechCrunch.[1]
Who invested in Venice AI?
Crypto-focused firm Dragonfly led the round, with Coinbase Ventures and North Island Ventures participating.[1]
Who is the CEO of Venice AI?
Venice AI was founded in 2024 by CEO Erik Voorhees, the cryptocurrency entrepreneur behind the ShapeShift exchange, and Jesse Proudman, who earlier sold cloud company Blue Box Group to IBM.[2]
What does Venice AI do?
Venice AI runs a privacy-focused chatbot and API that gives users access to more than 200 AI models while letting them keep their privacy.[1]
How much has Venice AI raised?
Venice AI has raised at least $65M in equity across 1 sourced funding round tracked by Value Add VC. The most recent was a $65M Series A in July 2026 at a $1B post-money valuation, reported by TechCrunch. Debt financing, tender offers and secondary sales are not counted.
When was Venice AI founded?
Venice AI was founded in 2024, according to TechCrunch.
References
researched 2026-10-23Sources & methodologyshow
Where these figures come from
- TechCrunchmajor outlet2 facts
Figures are labelled Reported (a source states it), Estimated, Derived (computed from other facts) or Rumored (in talks / unconfirmed). Rumors never replace a confirmed figure. Each figure keeps its own as-of date; history is preserved rather than overwritten.