Octane secured $6.75 million in a seed round led by Archetype and Winklevoss Capital. The funding round also saw support from Gemini, Circle, Legion Capital, Druid Ventures, and Duke Capital Partners, Forbes reported.
Strategic angels, including Balaji Srinivasan and Sina Habibian, joined the investment effort. Investors recognized the urgent need to address smart contract vulnerabilities in the crypto space.
Duke Dropout’s Anti-Hack Startup Octane Raises $6.75M
The funding will help Octane accelerate its product development and team growth. The company plans to mass label vulnerability data for the benefit of all developers.
Giovanni Vignone, aged 22, envisioned the threat posed by hackers before he finished college. He studied computer science and machine learning at Duke University.
As a founding engineer at Mural, a crypto-focused payments startup, he observed costly audits that failed to prevent hacks. He once said that every hack in crypto equals a bank account liquidation. His words emphasized the severity of these breaches.
Giovanni left college to build Octane and solve crypto security challenges through artificial intelligence.
Innovative AI-Powered Defense
Octane introduces an AI-powered security platform to stop attacks before they occur. The company aims to provide each crypto team with an AI security engineer through its platform.
Traditional audits prove reactive and expensive, as teams spend between $150,000 and $200,000 yearly. Despite these heavy investments, smart contracts continue to get exploited. Octane’s approach focuses on constant protection rather than periodic audits.
In less than a minute, the software finds weaknesses, including drainable swap contracts and front-running currency rates. Its training data includes real-world exploits, detailed audit reports, and open-source repositories. This innovation brings a fresh perspective to smart contract security.
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Building Trust with Enterprise Clients
Octane already counts 15 enterprise clients using its technology. Notable companies, including Circle and Decent.xyz, have adopted its security measures. Gemini is considering the integration of Octane’s systems into its operations.
The rapid detection of security issues promises faster response times than traditional audits. Investors and customers see the technology as a new standard for smart contract security.
The platform is expected to instill greater confidence across the crypto ecosystem. Both established companies and new developers can benefit from these advanced security measures.
Industry Challenges and Future Goals
The crypto industry has lost over $11 billion to hacks driven by faulty code and slow audits. This loss underscores the vulnerability of digital assets to stealthy attackers. Octane focuses on mitigating risks by providing continuous AI defense.
The company also aims to extend its platform’s reach to complex attacks like the recent Bybit hack. By targeting both smart contract flaws and broader cyber threats, Octane sets its sights on improving overall cybersecurity.
The venture represents a significant step toward making blockchain applications more secure for everyone.
The funds raised will boost Octane’s pace in product development while expanding its team’s expertise. More developers will soon have access to robust security testing using AI-powered tools.
The platform will reach every crypto developer with a continuous security solution. Tyler Winklevoss noted that securing blockchain code remains one of the hardest challenges for developers. He emphasized that Octane’s technology is a game-changer for mainstream crypto adoption.
Octane’s breakthrough in AI-driven security shows promise for a safer crypto future. The company is set to redefine how vulnerabilities in smart contracts are addressed.