A recently popular AI tool that many KOLs are using. I analyzed it with Surf.
Surf (surf.ai) is an AI intelligence platform focused on the cryptocurrency sector, providing AI research tools designed specifically for digital assets, capable of analyzing on-chain data, social sentiment, market behavior, etc., avoiding the 'hallucination' problem of general AI models (such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Grok) on cryptocurrency topics. As for the latest financing situation, on December 10, 2025, Surf announced the completion of a $15 million financing round.
This round was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures and Digital Currency Group (DCG).
The funds will be used to develop Surf 2.0 (a more advanced proprietary model set to launch in February 2026), expand proprietary datasets, implement multi-step agent functionalities, and launch the enterprise version Surf Enterprise (supporting SOC 2 compliance and enhanced security).
Company background and progress: The company was founded in San Francisco by CEO Ryan Li and others, and launched in July 2025 (initially invite-only, public in September).
It has attracted over 300,000 users, generated more than 1 million research reports, and achieved annual revenue in the millions of dollars (subscription fees ranging from $15 to $399 per month), aiming for $10 million by the end of 2026.
Surf 1.0 has outperformed general models by up to 4 times in CAIA benchmark tests and has been adopted by 80% of top exchanges and research institutions.
This round of financing reflects investors' optimism about vertical AI in cryptocurrency, especially against the backdrop of general AI struggling to handle the complexities of crypto.