Near Foundation Launches $20 Million Fund to Boost AI Agents on Blockchain
In an exciting development at Near Foundation, a $20 million fund has been unveiled to accelerate the advancement of autonomous AI agents on its blockchain. This move signifies a significant milestone in merging artificial intelligence (AI) with decentralized technology. Despite this exciting news, there are still some skeptics within the industry, and the market capitalization of AI agents reflects a concerning trend.
The Near Foundation's initiative comes shortly after the announcement of expanding the Near Protocol AI agent ecosystem. The foundation is committed to deploying the $20 million AI agent fund on-chain in the coming months. The fund aims to support agent tokens that bring innovative AI-driven solutions to the table, such as AI-powered gaming, market-making, and permissionless oracles.
Focusing on establishing AI agents as a transformative force in commerce and business, Near Foundation emphasizes AI-driven agent tokenization, agent-curated order flow, fully on-chain gaming, financial entertainment, and market-maker agents. The Foundation is eager to invest in agent tokens that go beyond basic functionalities and push the boundaries of on-chain agentic design.
Beyond financial incentives, the Near AI Agent Fund will complement other initiatives like the Horizon AI accelerator and AI hackathons, fostering the growth of developers pushing the boundaries of AI and Web3 integration.
Despite the positive news, Near Protocol's primary token has seen a slight decline of over 3% in recent sessions. Data suggests that NEAR was trading at $3.22 at the time of this writing.
This announcement follows a trend where AI agents gained prominence in the fourth quarter of 2024. Noteworthy reports from CoinGecko and OKX Ventures have highlighted the increasing interest and potential for AI agents in the Web3 space in 2025.
As the industry explores the transformative power of AI agents, ensuring robust security, governance frameworks, and cybersecurity defenses are paramount to their successful integration while safeguarding market integrity. Experts such as Jeff Ren from OKX Ventures emphasize the importance of strong cybersecurity measures to prevent manipulation and ensure fairness.
Leading figures like Franklin Templeton and Multicoin Capital have also provided insights into the growing investment in AI-related tokens and the emergence of new trends like zero-employee companies and "alpha hunters."
Moreover, voices from tech giants like Nvidia and OpenAI express confidence in the future of AI agents, predicting their significant impact on industries and economies globally. These sentiments align with a broader outlook on how AI agents could reshape traditional job landscapes and drive significant changes in work dynamics.
Despite optimistic projections, recent challenges have emerged in the AI agent market, as project counts increase while market caps decline. Keeping a long-term perspective on the potential of AI agents is essential amid short-term market uncertainties.
One notable concern lies in the skepticism of some industry players, as highlighted by a recent survey showing doubts among key figures in the Solana community about the role of AI agents in decentralized ecosystems. This skepticism underscores the ongoing discussions and differing viewpoints within the blockchain space regarding the impact of AI technologies.