Elon Musks $4.3B Fundraiser Sparks Rally in AI Token Market: Boost for Decentralized ML Networks
Elon Musk's artificial intelligence (AI) firm, xAI, has announced plans to raise $4.3 billion in equity, in addition to the $5 billion it has been trying to borrow from debt investors. The announcement was made on June 17th, and it has had a positive impact on the AI token market.
xAI, which acquired X, formerly Twitter, in a bid to expand its reach into the crypto-related discussions platform, is partially in need of new funds as it has already spent most of what it previously raised. The AI startup raised $14 billion in equity between its foundation in March 2023 and the launch of the debt sale in 2025. However, as of March 31st, it is left with only $4 billion on its balance sheet.
The AI tokens have responded positively to the latest announcement. TAO, the AI token powering the decentralized ML network called Bittensor, rose 1.28% in an hour to $356.68 at press time. NEAR, a prominent AI token, rose 0.59% to $2.21. ICP, the token powering decentralized AI solutions at the Internet Computer protocol, rose 0.49% to $5.29. RENDER, the AI token powering the decentralized GPU rendering platform, rose 1.05% to $3.35. FET, the AI token behind the Artificial Intelligence Alliance consortium, also rose 1.24% to $0.6787. FIL, the token supporting the internet infrastructure behind decentralized AI, rose 0.63% to $2.43. VIRTUAL, the token behind AI agent-enabling Virtuals Protocol, rose 0.9% to $1.79. INJ, the token lying at the intersection of AI and DeFi at the Injective protocol, rose 1.16% to $11.47.
The AI tokens market cap stood at $26 billion at the time of writing. The rally in AI tokens after Elon Musk's $4.3B fundraiser first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 17th, 2025. This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 17th, 2025, where it first appeared.
