Eightco Secures $125 Million from BitMine and Ark Invest as Tom Lee Joins Board

Eightco Secures Major Funding for AI and Blockchain Expansion

Publicly traded firm Eightco Holdings has secured $125 million in funding to accelerate its expansion into artificial intelligence and blockchain infrastructure, sending ORBS stock surging by more than 12% on Thursday 1

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. The capital injection came from three major investors: BitMine Immersion Technologies committed $75 million, while Cathie Wood's Ark Invest and Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, each contributed $25 million 1

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The $125 million fundraise marks a significant vote of confidence in Eightco's strategy to position itself at the intersection of emerging technologies. BitMine and Ark Invest have emerged as key backers of the company's vision to create what it describes as "a hub at the center of key frontier AI technologies and content creation" 2

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Tom Lee Joins Eightco Board Amid Leadership Changes

As part of the funding agreement, Tom Lee, Chairman of BitMine Immersion Technologies, will join Eightco's board of directors, while Brett Winton, Ark Invest's Chief Futurist, has been added as a board advisor 1

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. The move represents a notable shift in Eightco's leadership structure, with Chairman Dan Ives stepping down from his position after being appointed in September 2

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"Bitmine invested in ORBS as we believe this company sits at the center of some of the most important future needs and developments for AI," Lee stated 1

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. Lee's firm had previously invested $20 million in Eightco as part of its "moonshot" strategy, which allocates portions of its balance sheet to high-upside projects similar to Google X's approach to solving ambitious problems 1

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Strategic Investments in OpenAI and Beast Industries

Eightco revealed it has closed strategic investments in OpenAI worth $50 million and an investment in Beast Industries totaling $25 million 1

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. Beast Industries is the company of YouTube star MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson. BitMine has also backed Beast Industries separately, investing $200 million in the firm earlier this year 1

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These strategic investments position Eightco to capitalize on the synergy between AI and blockchain technologies alongside digital consumer products and content creation. "To me, there is tremendous synergy between Proof of Human (Worldcoin), the OpenAI foundational models, and connectivity to the greatest content creator in the world, MrBeast," Lee explained 1

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Eightco previously raised $250 million to create a digital asset treasury centered on Worldcoin, the proof of humanity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman 1

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. The e-commerce inventory management platform made its first crypto play in September, announcing it would buy and hold Worldcoin, which sent its share price surging by 3,000% in a single day 2

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Market Response and Future Outlook

Cathie Wood emphasized the transformative potential of Eightco's approach, stating: "ORBS is taking on a unique initiative at the intersection of AI, blockchain, and creator-driven platforms. At ARK Invest, we focus on technologies that have the potential to transform the global economy" 1

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. Ark Invest maintains an active position of nearly $169 million in BitMine stock across its ETFs, making it the firm's 25th largest position 1

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. A $25 million position in ORBS would place the firm inside Ark's top 70 holdings 1

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Despite the positive market reaction to the funding announcement, ORBS stock faces headwinds from broader market conditions. Shares ended trading Thursday up 11.67% to 90 cents but remain down over 92% in the past six months as crypto-related stocks have been battered amid a market downturn 2

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. The stock is trading around $0.94, still down approximately 46% year-to-date 1

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. Investors will be watching how Eightco deploys this capital to execute on its vision of connecting blockchain infrastructure with frontier AI technologies and leveraging its positions in Worldcoin and Ethereum.