Share this article
Web3 Studio Sortium Raises $7.8M in Seed Round
Crypto hedge fund Arca was among the participants in the funding round.
By Brandy Betz
Updated May 9, 2023, 4:06 a.m. Published Jan 13, 2023, 9:08 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Sortium, a developer of Web3 entertainment technology, has raised $7.75 million in a seed round, with crypto hedge fund Arca among the investors. Web3 infrastructure advancements are widely seen as key to bringing more people and brands into the crypto industry.
The funding was revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the details, including Arca's participation, were confirmed by Sortium CEO Marc Seal in an interview with CoinDesk.Seal didn’t specify who the other investors were, but said the group included other crypto-native firms.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Startups are raising capital despite an extended crypto bear market following a string of high-profile collapses, including that of multibillion-dollar crypto exchange FTX. Sortium’s SEC filing showed a $14 million target for the seed round, but the company said it decided not to pursue the full amount.
“We started raising [money] at that $14 million, and we had originally gotten offers that would have completed the round very shortly after we announced,” explained Seal. “We decided not to go that route and focus more on strategic partners and see what the landscape was turning into.”
AI meets blockchain
Sortium's roughly 50 employees include blockchain engineers, artificial intelligence engineers and a full game studio that can launch its own titles or help partners develop games.
“Sortium allows you to generate, tokenize and simulate,” said Seal. “You can generate 3D assets, regenerate consent with artificial intelligence and it will get automatically tokenized. That’s our Web3 blockchain layer.”
Sortium is focused on showcasing its technological framework to help potential partners and clients understand what generative artificial intelligence systems, blockchains and dynamic private economic systems can accomplish. The startup is also preparing to launch its first play-to-earn game. CosmoGene will let players create unique virtual genetic experiments generated from AI-backed synthetic DNA. The game learns and adapts to the player, which in turn grows the environment.
With respect to funding, Sortium is still considering accepting up to another $2 million from investors interested in the seed round. The company is also strategizing how and when to pursue a Series A fundraise.
Read more: Real Crypto Adoption Needs Real Crypto Infrastructure
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Zerohash is in talks to raise $250 million at $1.5 billion valuation after walking away from Mastercard takeover
The company recently walked away from multi-billion dollar acquisition talks with Mastercard, instead opting to remain independent.
What to know:
- Zerohash is in talks to raise $250 million at a $1.5 billion valuation, according to a source.
- The crypto firm recently pulled out of acquisition talks with Mastercard after it decided to remain independent.
- The credit card giant is said to be considering a strategic investment in Zerohash.
Top Stories
