Carv
, a data layer platform that empowers web3 gaming and AI companies, and gamers to control and monetize their data, has secured a $10 million Series A funding round led by Tribe Capital and IOSG Ventures.
Carv’s recent funding comes just five months after
receiving a strategic investment led by HashKey Capital
. The startup did not disclose its valuation and total funding raised to date. In 2022, Carv was valued at approximately $40 million when it raised its seed round led by Temasek’s VC arm, Vertex Ventures.
Carv initially targets the gaming and AI industries, where it sees the greatest potential to assist users in managing and monetizing their data. Users can choose to share their data with Carv’s corporate clients in a privacy-preserving and regulatory-compliant manner for applications like AI model training and market research.
Victor Yu, co-founder and COO of Carv, stated, “While user data has fueled significant economic growth, individuals often do not benefit from the value created by leveraging their information for billion-dollar businesses.”
Carv offers three solutions:
CARV Protocol
, a modular data layer with cross-chain connectivity linking web2 identities to web3 tokens;
CARV Play
, a cross-platform credentialing system and game distribution platform; and CARV’s AI Agent, CARA, a personalized gaming assistant that integrates with web3 wallets and can recommend games, activities, and projects.
“Carv sets itself apart by giving users ownership and monetization rights over their data. Any revenue generated from using users’ data is shared back with the data creators and the users themselves,” Yu explained. “We have also introduced a unified user ID standard (
ERC-7231
) that bridges web2 and web3, enabling seamless data portability compared to current fragmented solutions.”
Carv has been profitable since December 2023, generating monthly recurring revenue exceeding $1 million, with significant month-over-month growth. The company currently boasts 2.5 million registered users and over 350 integrated gaming and AI company partners.
With the new funding, Carv aims to enhance the scalability and versatility of its CARV Protocol, introduce CARV Link to enhance on-chain identity and data authentication, and deploy CARV Database for managing various user data types.
Other participants in the Series A round include Arweave, ConsenSys, Draper Dragon, Fenbushi Capital, LiquidX, MARBLEX, No Limit Holdings, and OKX Ventures.
