Emerging markets, AI, and crypto: insights from Ryze Labs’ Matthew Graham

In an exclusive interview at the Emergence Conference in Prague, Matthew Graham, founder and CEO of Ryze Labs, shares his insights on the next frontier of AI and crypto adoption.

In the ever-evolving landscape of crypto and artificial intelligence, few voices are as bold and influential as Matthew Graham, founder of Ryze Labs. Based in Shanghai, Graham and Ryze Labs venture to fund bleeding edge companies at the intersection of crypto innovation, operating with a mission to drive innovation in emerging markets by virtue of aligning talent with capital. 

The company’s portfolio is companies including alt-L1s, such as Polygon and Sui, in addition to investments in infrastructure through companies like Layer Zero and Builders Tribe, as well as several DApps and gaming/metaverse companies that lean into web3.  

In an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Emergence Conference in Prague on Dec. 5, Graham shared his views on the transformative potential of AI in the crypto industry, highlighting what he says are unique opportunities in emerging markets, as well as the next wave of potential for blockchain entrepreneurs. 

You might also like: Copper adds custody support for USDC on Sui

Graham’s enthusiasm for the convergence of AI and blockchain is palpable. “In my view, the AI intersection with crypto and the tremendous innovation around that is the most important wave of innovation we’ve seen since DeFi summer,” he asserted. It is a belief that has driven Ryze Labs to zero in on projects that combine the best of both worlds.

The firm’s AI Combinator, which was launched in collaboration with a16z, exemplifies this focus, acting as a hub for AI and blockchain developers to collaborate, exchange ideas, and accelerate progress. “We’ve already made 10 to 12 investments at this intersection,” Graham said, noting that the incubator has a $5 million fund it aims to deploy across sectors.

Additionally, Ryze Labs has taken a strong position in Solana’s ecosystem by acquiring MNDE tokens through Marinade, the leading Solana staking protocol, reflecting confidence in Solana’s SVM framework, staking advancements, and PayFi applications. For the TON blockchain, Graham also made an investment into Telegram’s vast 900 million-strong user base, which serves as a foundation for building the next Web3 super app, reinforcing his fund’s commitment to backing projects with transformative potential across diverse ecosystems, including social media and messaging.

But a core thesis of Graham’s is that the big wave in crypto will be powered by AI. “The possibilities of AI in crypto are vast, ranging from automating tasks with varying levels of intelligence to creating AI agents that influence and inspire real-world human actions.

“I think it’s less likely that you will have AI innovation with AI agents specific to some kind of L1 that’s designed just for that one.” Graham stressed. Instead, we “likely to see a stack that includes a layer which is designed for AI agents that sits atop multiple L1s, as a kind of middle layer.”

“Our superpower,” Graham was keen to stress, “is helping our portfolio companies to enter these unique markets.”

Emerging markets, he noted, are one area Graham sees as poised for growth. “These markets are where the next wave of users and builders will come from,” he said, highlighting the need for tailored support to navigate regulatory, cultural, and technological challenges in jurisdictions far from major crypto nerve centers like New York, San Francisco, Zug or London, Graham has turned to global hubs like Lagos and Bangalore to search for talent and the next AI/crypto unicorns.

Drawing parallels to cultural phenomena like internet memes and lore, he noted how despite geographic barriers, internet lore and culture can synergize movements across time and space. 

“Lore becomes really important to the success of these innovations,” he said, referencing projects that creatively integrate AI with cultural and historical narratives like Terminal of Truths, an AI agent that garnered significant interest earlier this year for combining the lore of the Goatsee meme, together with an X account and a Solana wallet. That project was given $50,000 in funding from a16z’s Marc Andreessen, which flicked a switch in Graham’s thinking about the potential of AI agents to work across the crypto ecosystem.

“Ultimately, our goal is to back the hell out of people building the most exciting projects at the intersection of AI and crypto,” Matthew said. “When I learned about Terminal of Truths, that was a stop-everything moment. The convergence of AI and crypto is not just a trend; it’s the next frontier.”

Read more: Trump pick David Sacks as White House’s AI and crypto czar