The crypto-native VC firm is backing an open-source AI startup less than three months after its $50M Series A, signaling where smart money thinks the next cycle is heading.
Robot Ventures, a firm best known for writing checks into crypto projects, is leading a $75 million Series B round into Nous Research, an AI startup that builds open-source agent infrastructure. The deal values the company at $1.5 billion post-money.
That’s a remarkable trajectory for a company founded in 2023. Less than three months ago, Nous closed a $50 million Series A. Now it’s nearly tripled its cumulative funding in a single fundraise, with Union Square Ventures participating alongside Robot Ventures.
Why a crypto VC is betting big on AI agents #
Nous Research’s core product is Hermes, an open-source platform designed for building and deploying AI agents. No token attached, no protocol governance, just an open-source tool that anyone can build on top of.
The company’s backers read like a who’s-who of crypto-adjacent venture capital. Paradigm, North Island Ventures, OSS Capital, and angel investor Balaji Srinivasan have all previously invested in the company.
The numbers in context #
With approximately $70 million raised prior to this round, the new $75 million injection more than doubles the company’s total funding. Going from Series A to Series B in under three months is unusually fast, even by venture capital standards.
The deal is reportedly in its final stages, though neither the company nor its lead investors have issued official confirmation. The founding team, which includes Jeffrey Quesnelle, Karan Malhotra, Ryan Teknium, and Shivani Mitra, has managed to build significant enterprise value in a remarkably compressed timeline.
What this means for crypto investors #
The AI agent narrative has already touched crypto markets through projects like Virtuals Protocol, ai16z, and the broader wave of agent-related tokens that surged in late 2025. But those projects were crypto-first, AI-second. Nous Research is the inverse: AI-first, with investors who clearly believe the crypto integration will come later.
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