Ritual

Founded by co-founders Niraj Pant and Akilesh Potti, Ritual offers an AI coprocessor solution that enables seamless AI integration. The company's AI VM, an open and sovereign execution layer for AI, allows developers to fine-tune, monetize, and perform inference on models using cryptographic schemes across various blockchain networks. In November 2023, Ritual raised USD 25 million in seed funding led by investor Archetype with participation from other investors Accomplice, Robot Ventures, dao5, Anagram, Hack VC, and Dialectic AG. In March 2025, Ritual raised USD 25 million in series A funding from new investors Accel, Avra, Hypersphere Ventures, and Polychain Capital, with participation from returning investors Accomplice, Anagram, Archetype, dao5, Dialectic Capital Management, and Robot Ventures.

Individual and other unspecified investors also participated in the round. Ritual's flagship component, the GMP layer, facilitates seamless interoperability between existing blockchains and the Ritual Superchain, effectively serving as an AI coprocessor for diverse blockchain ecosystems. The company's AI Virtual Machine (VM) not only hosts SPCs but also provides essential infrastructure for optimised execution, including inference engine binaries and vector databases. The company superchain comprises specialised stateful precompiles (SPCs) tailored for diverse classes of arbitrary computation, with a focus on AI models spanning from classical to foundational models.

In addition, the firm also offers Infernet, the inaugural implementation of its protocol and methodologies. Infernet empowers smart contracts to solicit computation outputs and proofs utilising designated models and features. The company plans to use the March 2025 funding to develop its artificial intelligence technology, enhance security and scalability, and support developers with tools for integrating data into smart contracts.