Camp Network Secures $30M to Tackle AI’s Data Ownership Crisis—Because Apparently, Ethics Are an Afterthought in Tech

Another day, another blockchain startup promising to fix AI’s mess—this time with a $30 million war chest. Camp Network’s pitch? Decentralized data ownership so tech giants can’t vacuum up your digital footprint without paying up. Cue the investor applause.

The problem? AI models feast on user data like it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet—no royalties, no consent. Camp’s solution: a blockchain-based protocol that forces AI to cough up crypto when scraping content. Think of it as a digital toll booth for your selfies and blog rants.

Will it work? The VCs betting $30M clearly think so—or maybe they’re just desperate to avoid the next ’AI ethics’ PR nightmare. Either way, the irony isn’t lost: using crypto to clean up Silicon Valley’s data hoarding is like hiring a pyromaniac as a firefighter. But hey, at least the tokenomics slide looked pretty.

How Camp Network bridges AI and IP

The goal of the project is to address the key issue of intellectual property in an age where AI relies heavily on vast amounts of user-generated data. Camp Network will enable users to register content, including art, music, and more, with clear usage rights.

“Camp Network exists to solve the missing LINK between IP and AI. In a world where AI will generate the majority of content, provenance is no longer a feature — it’s the necessary foundation for making ownership and value enforceable by design,” James Chi, Co-Founder of Camp Network.

Once the data is on-chain, AI developers can use it to train their agents. However, before utilizing the data, developers must agree to the usage rights, including royalties, which are embedded within smart contracts.

At that point, whenever an AI agent uses the data, the blockchain automatically calculates royalties and executes payments to creators. The entire process happens on-chain, with tokens deposited directly into the creator’s wallets.

1kx was one of the early backers of Celestia, while Blockchain Capital is one of the oldest VCs focused on crypto. Other investors in Camp Network include dao5, Lattice, Maven 11, Hypersphere, and OKX.