A decentralized network for sourcing artificial intelligence training data just locked down $6.5 million, a move that could upend how AI companies acquire the real-world information they need to build smarter models. Perceptron pulled together a heavyweight coalition of Web3 investors for the strategic round, including Sigma Capital, Selini Capital, QCP Capital, P2 Ventures, CoinDCX Ventures, and infrastructure players like Walrus Foundation and Aethir.
The timing matters. AI developers have long relied on centralized web scraping to feed their models, a method that grows more legally murky and technically brittle by the month. Perceptron offers an alternative: a single contributor mesh that compresses global data collection into a network of idle bandwidth, unique datasets, and domain expertise. The pitch is speed and ownership. Teams can move from a raw data request to a verified, delivered dataset in days rather than weeks. Meanwhile, contributors retain full control over their data and earnings, withdrawing or monetizing either at any time without third-party dependencies.
Scale came before the money. The network already counts more than 807,000 nodes and over 300,000 daily active users across platforms like Telegram and Discord. Early outreach in the first phase reached 200,000 users, a figure that signals pent-up demand from people who wanted to sell their data and expertise but lacked the right infrastructure.
Peter Anthony, the UK-based co-founder and CEO, framed the raise as fuel for a platform shift. The centerpiece is a data-questing system that lets AI companies commission specific, high-value datasets directly from the community. That moves the network beyond organic contributions and toward a demand-driven marketplace. Anthony pointed to the organic scaling as proof the model works and noted that the new capital unlocks the questing platform immediately, with further announcements slated for next quarter.
The longer-term ambition sets a target of 5 million nodes, creating a fully integrated environment where everything an AI company needs lives in one place. Nathan Gurr, investment analyst at P2 Ventures, highlighted the network’s ability to mobilize niche expertise on demand, from doctors and lawyers to native speakers, anywhere in the world. That reach, he argued, positions Perceptron to build a scalable data and intelligence layer for AI and potentially lead the decentralized AI stack.
The fresh funding will launch the questing platform, expand contributor tooling and rewards infrastructure, and push the node count toward that 5 million milestone.
