**Can AI Become a "Decision Partner" for Crypto Traders? What's Behind Surf's $15 Million Funding**

In the midst of the crypto funding winter, Surf has attracted significant institutional attention. Led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and DCG, the $15 million funding has positioned this AI information platform, built specifically for blockchain, into the spotlight.

**Why General AI Models "Fail" in the Crypto Space**

Universal large language models like ChatGPT and Grok face a common challenge—"hallucination" phenomena that lead to unreliable outputs. But the real issue lies in the fact that: the unique characteristics of the crypto market inherently make general models "incompatible."

Market volatility is intense, information sources are diverse and easily manipulated, and technological iteration is rapid. These features cause AI tools trained on general datasets to frequently produce biases. Traders, researchers, and even investors face high costs—decisions based on inaccurate information can lead to huge losses.

**Surf's Solution: Dedicated AI System**

Surf's core logic is straightforward—if general models don't work, then build an AI system tailored specifically for the crypto ecosystem.

The platform adopts a multi-agent architecture, combining proprietary models with industry-leading data sources. Users can ask questions via a simple chat interface. Whether it's basic questions ("What is Bitcoin halving?") or complex analyses ("How are on-chain activities and social sentiment trends for a certain token?"), Surf can integrate social sentiment, on-chain data, and market behavior to provide answers.

This platform supports data tracking across more than 40 blockchain networks, helping users understand capital flows, wallet behaviors, and protocol dynamics. In other words, it's not just a research tool but also a trading assistant.

**Performance Data Speaks**

Surf 1.0's performance on the CAIA benchmark is noteworthy. This benchmark was developed in collaboration with Princeton University to evaluate AI models' ability to perform primary human analyst tasks.

Results show that Surf outperforms ChatGPT and Grok by 4 times on crypto-specific tasks, with more concrete citations and fewer errors. This is not just hype but backed by data-driven technical advantages.

**Founder's Insights**

Surf was co-founded by Ryan Li. Ryan studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley, served as CTO of BitTorrent, and is a co-founder of CyberConnect. In 2024, CyberConnect completed its transformation into a modular social staking L2 and rebranded as Cyber.

Ryan's entrepreneurial inspiration came from personal experience—witnessing the failure of general AI platforms in crypto applications and seeing traders suffer losses due to inaccurate information. Based on this observation, he decided to create a solution specifically designed for crypto.

In interviews, Ryan emphasized the importance of "trust": "Financial decisions require reliable information. General AI tools are not built for this purpose. We built Surf to provide dependable support in a rapidly changing market."

**Growth Trajectory**

Surf launched in July 2025 via an invite-only model and opened to the public in September. In just a few months, the team, which has not exceeded 30 people, has achieved hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

Even more impressive: the platform has generated over 1 million research reports, with user numbers surpassing 80,000 and a monthly growth rate of 50%. Such growth reflects the market's urgent demand for specialized AI tools.

**Business Model and Future Plans**

Surf operates on a subscription-based model. Free users can access basic features with limited quotas, while paid members enjoy higher limits and dedicated support. The company has not yet disclosed any token issuance plans.

Following this funding round, Surf plans to launch version 2.0, which will include more advanced proprietary models, expanded data pipelines designed for market and on-chain intelligence, and additional agents capable of handling complex multi-step analytical workflows.

**Conclusion**

The $15 million funding underscores investors' optimism about the crypto AI track. In an era flooded with large models, specialized and vertical AI tools may hold greater value. Surf's story is still being written, but the question it raises is clear—what kind of AI does the crypto space need? The answer seems to be: a truly understanding AI of this ecosystem.