New York-based Donut Labs has raised $7 million in a pre-seed funding round to build what it claims is the world’s first “agentic” crypto browser — a tool designed to help users interact with blockchain-based applications using artificial intelligence. The round was led by Sequoia, Bitkraft and HackVC, with participation from angel investors including Solana and other ecosystem leaders, such as Matrix Partners, Sky9 Ventures, Makers Fund and SonicSVM. The $7 million will support the development of Donut, an executable crypto browser powered by artificial intelligence agents, with a native cryptocurrency wallet and decentralized exchange integration, decentralized network access and onchain execution. Unlike traditional web browsers, Donut’s AI algorithms understand page context and user intent, helping it autonomously execute blockchain-based operations. “The traditional browser hasn’t changed for more than 30 years. We’re re-architecting everything,” said Donut founder and CEO Chris Zhu. “We’re reconstructing the front end of the internet to be hyper-financialized for AI agents.” Donut closes $7 million pre-seed round. Source: Donut Related: Metaplanet’s Bitcoin ‘premium’ nears $600K per BTC Donut’s users will gain access to an array of decentralized tools and crypto services under a single agentic interface, which could make digital asset transactions safer. “Architecturally isolated signing environments and AI-powered risk screening secure every transaction while optimizing execution for speed and cost,” said Zhu, adding that “AI translates opaque calldata into plain English and assigns safety grades.” Donut’s AI agents can trade or swap tokens, place bets, or earn passive yield on digital assets. Related: Polygon-backed, high-yield blockchain launches for institutional adoption Agentic browsers could reshape internet in next decade While Donut’s earliest adopters will likely be crypto traders, builders or decentralized finance (DeFi) users, agentic browsers may explode into the mainstream during the next decade. Within the next five years, Ethereum layer-2 (L2) networks will use agentic browsers to cut settlement costs. Mainstream browsers will also integrate agentic capabilities or build interoperability with purpose-built agentic browsers as AI becomes cheaper, according to Zhu. However, the most significant adoption will come within the next decade when onchain and offchain environments will be completely merged for internet users, Zhu said, adding: “Agentic browsers are poised to become the default entry point — much like smartphones replaced feature phones.” In the long term, Donut aims to support payments, gaming, content creation and social interaction, all within a single crypto-native browser. The company also plans to leverage advancements in decentralized identity and confidential computing to turn the browser into a personal “crypto CFO” for retail users. Magazine: DeFi will rise again after memecoins die down: Sasha Ivanov, X Hall of Flame
