WonderFi co-founder Karia Samaroo (née Ben Samaroo) has launched xTAO, a startup devoted to the decentralized AI network Bittensor, with the intention of making it a publicly traded company on the TSX Venture Exchange.
Samaroo will complete the public offering by merging Vancouver-based Adrianna Ventures with xTAO, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. As part of the transaction, xTAO intends to complete a non-brokered private placement financing campaign to raise up to $10 million USD ($13.8 million CAD) through subscription receipts.
The financing so far revolves around investments from crypto venture capital companies, including Arca, Cadenza Capital, Contango Digital Assets, Digital Currency Group, EV3 Ventures, Nickel5 Investments, Off the Chain Capital, and The Venture Department.
“The longer I’ve spent building on Bittensor, the more conviction I have that TAO will become one of the most important assets in our generation.”
Karia Samaroo
xTAO CEO
Samaroo claimed in a statement that xTAO would be the “first” publicly-traded company offering access to Bittensor, which he billed as the “Bitcoin of AI.” The platform is a decentralized blockchain marketplace that helps exchange AI models and the computing power needed to drive them. TAO tokens are used to both complete transactions and reward contributors.
Samaroo helped found WonderFi in February 2021 alongside Kartik Bajaj, Cong Ly, and Dean Sutton. It became the first Canadian-regulated crypto trading platform on the Toronto Stock Exchange in June 2022.
WonderFi encountered headwinds as the crypto market crashed that year, laying off staff as it acquired rivals like Coinberry. Dean Skurka, who led the trading platform Bitbuy before WonderFi acquired it that March, replaced Samaroo as CEO in October 2022 in a decision the two characterized as “mutual.” Samaroo pointed to Skurka’s experience helping Bitbuy flourish despite a rough market.
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Samaroo stayed on as WonderFi’s board chairman until December 2023. In addition to xTAO, he co-founded the Bittensor-based deepfake detection startup BitMind in July 2024. In a LinkedIn post, Samaroo made clear that his experience with Bittensor was informing his business decisions.
“The longer I’ve spent building on Bittensor, the more conviction I have that TAO (the native token) will become one of the most important assets in our generation,” Samaroo said.
Feature image courtesy xTAO.