Donut Labs has secured $15 million in seed funding to develop Donut Browser, an AI-powered platform that automates cryptocurrency trading and blockchain transactions directly within a web browser.
The round, led by BITKROFT and Makers Fund alongside Sky9 Capital, HSG, Altos Ventures, and Hack VC, brings total capital to $22 million in just six months.​
Who Is Donut Labs and What Problem Does It Solve?
Donut Labs, founded by CEO Chris Zhu, addresses a critical pain point in decentralized finance: the technical complexity of managing on-chain transactions and trading across multiple blockchains.
Donut Browser embeds autonomous AI agents that function as “AI quants”—analyzing market data, calculating risk exposure, and executing trades without manual intervention.
These agents operate continuously, executing trades even when users are offline, capturing opportunities in the 24/7 cryptocurrency markets.​
The startup has attracted over 160,000 users on its waitlist, signaling strong demand for AI-native trading infrastructure.​
Donut Labs Funding Overview
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Seed Round | $15M​ |
| Pre-Seed | $7M (six months prior)​ |
| Total Raised | $22M​ |
| Lead Investors | BITKROFT, Makers Fund, Sky9 Capital, Hack VC​ |
| Additional Backers | HSG, Altos Ventures, Solana/Sui/Monad ecosystem contributors​ |
| Waitlist Users | 160,000+​ |
Why Investors Are Backing Donut Now?
The timing aligns with exponential growth in decentralized finance. DeFi derivatives surpassed $1 trillion in monthly trading volume, creating significant opportunities for platforms that simplify blockchain interactions.​
Industry experts view the convergence of AI agents and blockchain technology as transformative for crypto adoption. While smart contracts and cross-chain bridging remain complex for retail users, AI agents can be optimized to navigate these systems efficiently.​
The investor syndicate includes ecosystem funds from Solana, Sui, and Monad, indicating the product will support multiple Layer-1 networks.​
What Is Donut Browser and How Does It Work?
Donut Browser is an agentic browser combining standard web navigation with embedded AI agents capable of autonomous financial decision-making.​
Users configure trading parameters and risk tolerance; AI agents then monitor markets, identify trading opportunities, and execute transactions across decentralized exchanges without requiring ongoing oversight.​
CEO Zhu positions the product as making “trading as natural as typing”—described as “your AI quant working for you, 24/7”.​
What Comes Next for Donut Labs?
The immediate focus is converting 160,000 waitlist users into active traders while ensuring AI agent reliability during volatile market conditions.​
Donut plans to launch a monetizable browser product capable of orchestrating real-time market intelligence and multi-chain execution.​
Key challenges include maintaining agent performance during market crashes, navigating regulatory requirements across jurisdictions, and competing with established platforms integrating AI features.​
Success depends on delivering consistent risk-adjusted returns while maintaining security standards institutional and retail traders require.​
