General Tensor, formerly known as General TAO Ventures, has closed $5 million across its pre-seed and seed rounds. Both rounds were oversubscribed, reflecting strong investor demand for operational exposure to decentralized AI infrastructure built on Bittensor.
The seed round was anchored by Good Morning Holdings, led by Lok Lee and backed by Goldman Sachs. The participation of Good Morning Holdings underscores growing institutional appetite for production-side exposure to decentralized AI networks, rather than passive token accumulation.
The pre-seed round, closed in December 2024, led by Lvna Capital, with participation from DCG, X Ventures, Proof of Talk, and Outliers Fund.
"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,” said Allan Cassis, Lvna Capital CEO and Founder. “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."
Proceeds from the combined financing rounds will be used to expand General Tensor’s validator operations, accelerate the development of high-performance subnet infrastructure, and scale a suite of consumer-facing DeFi applications built around the Bittensor ecosystem.
Most companies seek exposure to Bittensor by buying TAO on the open market. General Tensor produces it. By vertically integrating mining, validating, and subnet infrastructure, the company generates TAO at roughly 40x the cost efficiency of simply buying and holding. That margin has drawn interest from institutional investors looking for operational exposure to decentralized AI rather than passive token positions.
"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 of General Tensor.
With fresh capital secured and institutional backing in place, General Tensor is positioning itself as a core infrastructure participant within the Bittensor ecosystem, focused on disciplined execution, scalable infrastructure, and long-term value creation as decentralized AI networks continue to evolve.
About General Tensor
General Tensor builds infrastructure for the open-source AI economy on the Bittensor network. The company runs profitable mining and validating operations, develops high-performance subnet infrastructure, and builds consumer DeFi applications. General Tensor combines organic product development with acquisitions of early-stage fintech protocols to grow both its infrastructure footprint and user base. The company was formerly known as General TAO Ventures Inc.
Media Contact:
General Tensor Investor Relations
media@generaltensor.com
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