Key facts
- MNX, a decentralized futures exchange focused on AI assets, raised $6.4 million in pre-seed funding.
- The funding round was completed at a $40 million valuation.
- Village Global led the investment round, with participation from Cambrian, North Island Ventures, and others.
- The exchange will be built on the Ethereum Layer 2 network MegaETH.
- Planned products include valuation futures, equity perpetuals, compute perpetuals, and AI-focused prediction markets.
- MNX will utilize 200-millisecond batch auctions to mitigate latency and MEV.
MNX, a decentralized futures exchange targeting the AI economy, has successfully raised $6.4 million in a pre-seed funding round at a $40 million valuation. The exchange is being built on MegaETH, an Ethereum Layer 2 network, and aims to provide trading access to AI-related assets that are currently difficult to access on existing platforms.
Village Global led the funding round, with notable participation from Cambrian, North Island Ventures, Finality Capital, Relay Digital, and several angel investors including Dwarkesh Patel, Byrne Hobart, Augur and Gnosis co-founder Matt Liston, and Gitcoin's Scott Moore. MNX co-founder and CEO Stephen Grugett stated that the fundraising process began in March and was completed in two tranches due to additional investor interest.
The exchange's planned products include valuation futures, equity perpetuals, compute perpetuals, and prediction markets, all focused on the AI sector. Grugett explained that MNX will use dated futures for valuation trading, differing from platforms offering pre-IPO perpetual markets. Equity perpetuals will concentrate on AI companies, including foreign-listed stocks, while compute perpetuals will reference indices from SemiAnalysis. Grugett highlighted MNX's competitive edge as a comprehensive trading venue for the entire AI value chain, from compute to electricity prices and public equities.
MNX will employ 200-millisecond batch auctions, enabled by MegaETH's fast block times, to reduce latency and maximum extractable value (MEV), ensuring all trades within an auction receive the same price. The platform is currently in private beta on the MegaETH testnet and anticipates a mainnet launch this summer.
To address liquidity challenges, MNX plans to implement a Hyperliquidity Provider (HLP)-style vault, a model pioneered by Hyperliquid and Lighter. The exchange aims to attract technology workers and retail traders interested in AI exposure, employing a community-driven distribution strategy similar to that of Grugett's previous venture, Manifold Markets. The fresh capital will also support hiring across development and growth functions, with plans to onboard three to six full-time employees in the coming months.