General Tensor, a Toronto-based decentralized AI infrastructure builder, announced that it has raised $5 million across its pre-seed and seed funding rounds. The company said both rounds were oversubscribed, reflecting investor demand for operational exposure to decentralized AI infrastructure built on the Bittensor network.
The seed round was anchored by Good Morning Holdings, led by Lok Lee and backed by Goldman Sachs. The company said the participation highlights growing institutional interest in production-side exposure to decentralized AI networks rather than passive token accumulation.
General Tensor previously closed its pre-seed round in December 2024, which was led by Lvna Capital with participation from Digital Currency Group (DCG), X Ventures, Proof of Talk, and Outliers Fund.
The company plans to use proceeds from the combined financing rounds to expand its validator operations, accelerate the development of high-performance subnet infrastructure, and scale a suite of consumer-facing decentralized finance applications built around the Bittensor ecosystem.
General Tensor said most companies seeking exposure to the Bittensor ecosystem typically purchase the network’s TAO token on the open market. Instead, the company focuses on producing the token through vertically integrated mining, validating, and subnet infrastructure operations.
According to the company, this model enables it to generate TAO at roughly 40 times the cost efficiency of simply buying and holding the asset on the market. The company said this operational approach has attracted institutional investors interested in gaining exposure to decentralized AI through infrastructure rather than passive token positions.
General Tensor builds infrastructure for the open-source AI economy on the Bittensor network. Its operations include running mining and validating infrastructure, developing subnet technology, and building consumer-facing DeFi applications. The company also combines organic product development with acquisitions of early-stage fintech protocols in order to expand its infrastructure footprint and user base.
The company was formerly known as General TAO Ventures.
KEY QUOTES
“When we led the pre-seed round in 2024, it was clear decentralized AI had massive potential, but the infrastructure to support it was still early. General Tensor stood out because they weren’t just betting on Bittensor, they were building the infrastructure to make it work. Their vertically integrated model and 40x production efficiency show the strength of the team’s technical approach.”
Allan Cassis, CEO And Founder, Lvna Capital
“Operational alpha outperforms passive accumulation. We generate TAO at a fraction of market cost. That’s what makes us an interesting investment target. We aren’t simply holding the asset. We’re building the infrastructure that produces it.”
Mike Grantis, CEO, General Tensor
