Eightco Lands $125M in Funding from Bitmine and ARK

Shares in Eightco Holdings (ORBS) jumped 12% on Thursday after it raised $125 million to back its bets in blockchain and artificial intelligence.

Eightco said on Wednesday that crypto treasury firm Bitmine led the funding with $75 million, while Ark Invest and Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, each chipped in $25 million apiece.

The company added that Bitmine chairman Tom Lee would join Eightco’s board and Ark Invest’s chief futurist Brett Winton also signed on as a board advisor.

Eightco chairman Dan Ives, known for his bullish commentary on the tech sector, also stepped down from his position after being appointed to the role in September.

Eightco said the capital would support its expansion “into investing in technology shaping the next generation of artificial intelligence, blockchain infrastructure, and global digital consumer platforms.”

Eightco bets on MrBeast, OpenAI

​Eightco said that it had also closed an initial $50 million strategic investment into OpenAI and another $25 million investment into Beast Industries and its owner and YouTuber James Donaldson, better known as MrBeast.

​“These investments position ORBS as a hub at the center of key frontier AI technologies and content creation, expanding its portfolio to include ownership stakes in world-leading innovators,” Eightco said.

Related: Crypto accounting startup Cryptio lands $45M as institutions move onchain

Shares in Eightco ended trading on Thursday up 11.67% to 90 cents in reaction to the announcement. The stock saw a slight fall after hours, dropping by 2.6% to 88 cents.

Shares in Eightco are down over 92.49% in the past six months as stocks tied to crypto have been battered amid a broad market downturn.