AI and DeFi Collide: Seed Investments Fuel Education and Payments Revolution

The decentralized finance (DeFi) and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors are witnessing a surge in early-stage investment activity, with several projects securing significant funding to fuel expansion and innovation. Among the most notable developments is YZi Labs' $11 million seed round in VideoTutor, an AI-driven educational platform, while AI payments startup Kite debuted its token with a $263 million trading volume for its token within two hours of launch. Meanwhile, DeFi protocols like Mutuum Finance are advancing their roadmaps, and biotech firm Tharimmune raised $540 million to bolster its treasury strategy.

YZi Labs, a venture capital firm known for early-stage blockchain and fintech investments, has expanded into AI software by leading VideoTutor's $11 million seed round. The platform, founded by 20-year-old Kai Zhao, leverages large language models and animation tools to create personalized, interactive educational content. The investment underscores growing institutional confidence in AI-powered education technology, with participation from JinQiu Fund (ByteDance-affiliated) and Baidu Ventures, according to the Nulltx report. VideoTutor's 20,000 global users and 1,000 API integration requests highlight its potential to disrupt traditional learning models, as noted in the same coverage.

Simultaneously, Kite, an AI payments startup, debuted its token with a remarkable $263 million trading volume in its first two hours. The token enables machine-to-machine transactions, allowing autonomous AI agents to execute payments and access compute resources. With a capped supply of 10 billion tokens, 48% allocated to the community, Kite's rapid adoption reflects demand for AI-native financial infrastructure. The token's listing on Binance as a "Seed Label" asset further signals its market potential, with four trading pairs (KITE/USDT, KITE/USDC, KITE/BNB, KITE/TRY) launching on November 3, according to CoinDesk.

In the DeFi space, Mutuum Finance is nearing the 90% allocation threshold in its Phase 6 presale and has outlined a detailed V1 launch roadmap. The project's dual lending model, which combines pooled liquidity for major assets with isolated borrowing for niche tokens, has attracted over 17,600 holders. With Phase 3 set to introduce operational components like liquidity pools and debt tokens on the Sepolia Testnet, Mutuum aims to solidify its position as a non-custodial lending protocol, per the GlobeNewswire release.

Biotech firm Tharimmune also made headlines with a $540 million capital raise to build a Canton Coin treasury strategy. The firm, which processes over 500,000 daily transactions, appointed Mark Wendland as CEO to lead the initiative. The funding underscores the growing intersection of blockchain and institutional finance, with Clear Street acting as the sole placement agent, according to CoinDesk.

These developments reflect broader trends in the crypto and AI ecosystems, where seed-stage innovation is increasingly driven by cross-sector collaboration. As projects like VideoTutor and Kite demonstrate, AI's integration into finance and education is accelerating, supported by strategic investments from traditional and emerging players.