Yupp, an artificial intelligence startup that pairs AI model evaluation with cryptocurrency-based incentives, has exited stealth mode following a $33 million seed funding round. A16z Crypto, the crypto-focused arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, led the investment. The fundraising closed last year, giving Yupp six months to build and refine its platform behind the scenes.
Yupp AI Raises $33 Million Led by A16z Crypto
Yupp AI raises $33 million led by A16z Crypto
Coinbase Ventures joined the seed round alongside several high-profile angel investors: Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, Cred CEO Kunal Shah, and Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal. The investor lineup underscores both the momentum in AI and the increasing overlap between artificial intelligence and crypto infrastructure.
Yupp's platform lets users compare responses from over 500 AI models, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, and Llama, plus a range of lesser-known text and image models. Users rate the quality and accuracy of AI-generated outputs and earn credits in return. Those credits convert to fiat currencies like USD, euro, and more than 20 other options.
Yupp AI Raises $33 Million Led by A16z Crypto
Crypto payments and web3 infrastructure
The reward system runs through integrations with Stripe, PayPal, and Coinbase. Yupp co-founder and CEO Pankaj Gupta says the company has also built in crypto rails for instant payments via stablecoins on the Base Ethereum L2 and Solana blockchains. The setup reflects Yupp's push to use web3 infrastructure for transparency and faster payouts to users who contribute feedback.
Yupp has also launched the beta version of its VIBE (Vibe Intelligence BEnchmark) Score, a leaderboard that ranks AI models based on aggregated user feedback. The VIBE Score factors in confidence intervals, speed, latency, and cost to measure each model's performance. Yupp published the full methodology on its blog.
Yupp AI Raises $33 Million Led by A16z Crypto
Final thoughts
Yupp's stealth exit with backing from major investors signals growing interest in the intersection of AI and crypto systems. The platform gives users a direct role in evaluating AI models while earning rewards through traditional and crypto payment channels. Yupp's roadmap likely includes platform refinements, an expanded model catalog, and deeper web3 integrations to strengthen user engagement and trust in community-driven AI benchmarks.
