GPU-Backed Stablecoin USDai Raises $19.4M
USDai, a lending protocol for a stablecoin backed by GPU assets, has raised $19.4M in a public sale on Coinlist. The sale gives the project a fully diluted valuation of $300M, demonstrating strong interest in novel stablecoin models tied to the AI hardware boom.
The protocol, developed by Permian Labs, is the brainchild of co-founders Conor Moore and David Choi, who bring experience from private equity and investment banking. Their model aims to address a significant funding gap in the AI infrastructure market, which is estimated to require trillions of dollars in investment by 2028. Traditional financing is often too slow for the rapidly depreciating GPU assets, creating an opportunity for DeFi solutions. USDai has secured significant backing from major players in the crypto space. A $13.4 million Series A funding round was led by Framework Ventures, with participation from other notable firms such as Dragonfly, Arbitrum, and Bullish. This followed an earlier seed round that also included Coinbase Ventures. A key strategic partnership has been formed with PayPal, integrating its stablecoin, PYUSD, as a primary settlement asset for the on-chain loans to AI companies. This collaboration allows borrowers to receive funds directly into their PayPal accounts. To incentivize adoption, the partnership includes a program offering a 4.5% yield on up to $1 billion in deposits. The project utilizes a dual-token system to cater to different risk appetites. USDai serves as the liquid stablecoin, while sUSDai is the yield-bearing token that earns returns from the interest paid on the GPU-backed loans. This structure is part of a broader vision USDai refers to as "InfraFi," aiming to create a new financial layer for real-world infrastructure. The recent public sale on Coinlist was for the project's governance token, named CHIP. This sale was exclusively available to participants of USD.AI's "Allo Game" points program, which was designed to reward early engagement with the protocol. The sale of 700 million CHIP tokens at $0.03 each contributed to the project's $300 million fully diluted valuation.
