Kenyan AI and blockchain startup UTU Technologies has raised a US$500,000 bridge funding round to ensure it has the runway to close its Series A next year.
UTU Technologies is building a trust infrastructure for the digital economy on æternity blockchain, having graduated from the Starfleet accelerator run by Æ Ventures. It has developed an algorithm optimised for trust that utilises proprietary innovations in the fields of AI and distributed ledger technology.
The startup, which is also the parent company of e-hailing app MARAMOJA, initially raised funding late last year and has also launched an IDO on the Binance DEX platform, has secured US$500,000 in funding from Kepple Africa Ventures, SoftBank Group’s SubsidiaryDeepCore, Artesian, Animoca, and others.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Jason Eisen told Disrupt Africa the round, which takes UTU’s total raised funding to US$1.3 million, gave it the runway to close its Series A, which is in the works currently. He would not disclose the targeted amount of that round.
Over the course of the last year, UTU has been extending its trust infrastructure’s capabilities into decentralised and centralised financial services, home services, insurance, telecoms, and local on-demand services.
“We have grown our waiting list to more than 30 companies across more than 15 countries on four continents for access to our trust infrastructure services,” Eisen said.
