AI Browsers Are Headed to Crypto—Donut Labs Simply Raised $22 Million to Construct It First – Decrypt

AI browsers have gotten the subsequent frontier in how folks work together with the net—and crypto merchants simply acquired their very own. New York startup Donut Labs introduced on Monday that it has raised $22 million throughout pre-seed and seed rounds to develop what it claims is the primary agentic AI browser that may analysis, analyze, and execute trades autonomously.

Founder and CEO of Donut Labs, Chris Zhu, mentioned that the concept for the Donut browser grew out of frustration with present platforms after his group’s TikTok-based app was abruptly shut down.

“Browsers haven’t actually modified in 30 years,” Zhu instructed Decrypt. “We wished to construct the biggest entrance finish on the web—however try this for crypto.”

That have led Zhu to a broader realization that if AI is turning into the interface for every part on-line, crypto wants a browser constructed for it.

“We noticed indicators that this agentic browser wave was beginning—OpenAI launched Atlas, Perplexity has Comet, and we wished to create one that might truly deal with buying and selling,” Zhu defined.

The funding, led by Bitkraft Ventures, Sequoia China, Sky9 Ventures, Matrix Companions, Makers Fund, and Altos Ventures, positions Donut Labs among the many early gamers racing to redefine how AI and crypto merge.

Constructing the Agentic Browser

In keeping with Zhu, Donut’s AI browser is designed to know a person’s buying and selling context, synthesize information from a number of sources, and carry out actions throughout exchanges—all inside the browser itself.

Zhu mentioned Donut’s system is structured with layered safety—modeled on the “ranges” utilized in Tesla’s self-driving software program. Duties vary from pure analysis to totally approved transactions requiring a number of confirmations.

“The rationale immediate injection occurs in different browsers is as a result of they deal with HTML hyperlinks with not sufficient safety,” he defined.

To deal with this, Donut processes authorizations on the backend moderately than simulating person clicks. The corporate additionally companions with key administration agency Turnkey to safeguard non-public keys.

“We truly don’t give the agent the flexibility to click on into your different wallets,” Zhu mentioned. “Our pockets backend operates individually so the agent by no means sees your balances.”

How It Works

Behind the scenes, Donut makes use of an “open router” that dynamically selects the suitable AI mannequin for every job—from light-weight fashions for token swaps to superior reasoning techniques for advanced evaluation. The browser’s brokers draw on liquidity and pricing information from sources like CoinGecko and Pyth, whereas custom-built instruments permit automated execution and analysis.

Zhu mentioned the corporate plans to unveil a full suite of merchandise—a standalone browser, extension, internet app, and cell app—to cowl “the total life cycle of your buying and selling profession.”

The Human Factor

Will AI browsers make human merchants out of date? Zhu mentioned the other is extra seemingly:

“Proper now, quants are nice at high-frequency trades,” he mentioned. “However AI browsers know your complete context—they make it simpler so that you can do what you already do, throughout the web.”

He added that AI will ultimately turn into a buying and selling equalizer moderately than a menace.

“Over a protracted sufficient time horizon, we do wish to get to the purpose the place it’s simply me, myself, and my hundred quants,” he mentioned. “However the methods might be distinctive to every particular person.”

As AI techniques evolve from chatbots to totally autonomous instruments, browsers could turn into the primary interface for each human and machine exercise on-line. Zhu argues that crypto merchants—accustomed to automation and volatility—might be among the many first to embrace that shift.

“Our species is on the lookout for fast development,” he mentioned. “Selecting AI to assist us get there is without doubt one of the best methods to evolve.”