Cambrian, a blockchain data infrastructure startup, has secured $6 million in a seed funding round co-led by Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital. The raise brings total funding to $11.9 million, following a $5.9 million pre-seed round backed by a16z’s Crypto Startup Accelerator in 2025.
The round also drew participation from Flow Traders, Selini Capital, Paper Ventures, and Nomad Capital, alongside individual backers including Jason Mo, Avi Felman, and TrueNorth co-founders Alex Lee and Willy Chuang.
Founder and CEO Green said the deal was structured as a SAFE with token warrants. Financial terms, including valuation, were not disclosed. Franklin Templeton and Polychain Capital secured board observer seats as part of the investment.
Platform targets ai-driven and institutional data access
Founded in 2024, Cambrian builds APIs that provide institutional-grade and AI-ready access to blockchain data. Its system aggregates information across lending protocols, decentralized exchange liquidity, and developer and sentiment metrics.
The company plans to evolve this into a verifiable oracle network designed to improve data reliability across onchain environments. The goal is to support firms deploying capital through decentralized systems and machine-driven trading strategies.
Cambrian’s platform currently indexes $4.5 billion in lending total value locked across four major protocols. It tracks 1,789 vaults from 895 curators and monitors more than 320,000 decentralized exchange pools across Base and Solana. Support for Ethereum is expected next, with additional blockchain integrations planned.
Institutional involvement signals deeper market shift
The participation of Franklin Templeton stands out as a sign of growing institutional commitment to core crypto infrastructure. The firm has been building digital asset capabilities since 2018 and operates validator nodes, indicating a strategic focus beyond simple market exposure.
Polychain Capital’s co-lead role adds technical weight, given its long-standing focus on protocol-level investments. Together, the backing reflects a broader trend of large traders expanding into foundational areas such as custody, tokenization, and data infrastructure.
Market data shows this shift gaining pace, with 73% of institutional traders indicating plans to increase digital asset allocations, particularly toward infrastructure that supports trading and risk management.
Demand rises for reliable onchain data
Cambrian is entering a market where demand for verifiable, high-quality onchain data is accelerating. Professional trading desks increasingly require transparent and auditable metrics before deploying capital, as raw blockchain data is often seen as noisy and difficult to interpret.
The company’s oracle network aims to address this by delivering validated, low-latency data feeds. This is becoming especially important as AI-driven and automated trading systems gain traction, relying on accurate data to execute complex strategies.
The broader crypto API market, valued at $1.1 billion in 2025, is expected to grow at a 22.2% compound annual rate through 2036, driven in part by these trends.
Expansion plans amid challenging market conditions
Cambrian plans to use the new funding to expand data coverage and accelerate deployment of its oracle network. An alpha version has already been developed with researchers from a16z crypto, with broader integrations expected later this year.
The firm generates revenue through software subscriptions, enterprise contracts, and agent-based payment systems such as x402.
The expansion comes during a volatile period for decentralized finance. Total value locked across protocols has dropped roughly 39% in 2026, while security breaches have resulted in nearly $942 million in losses so far this year.
Despite this, ecosystems like Solana and Base continue to show strong activity, with Solana maintaining high decentralized exchange volumes and a total value locked near $4.93 billion. Cambrian’s focus on these networks, alongside its planned Ethereum integration, positions it to serve areas where trading activity remains concentrated.
Headquartered in the United States, Cambrian employs 10 people and plans to expand its technical and commercial teams. Several team members previously worked on blockchain data initiatives tied to The Graph ecosystem.
Explore how reliable oracles power DeFi and AI strategies in our guide: learn about oracle networks here.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not represent the views or financial advice of Toobit. We make no guarantees regarding the accuracy or completeness of this information and shall not be held liable for any errors, omissions, or outcomes resulting from its use. Investing in digital assets involves risk; users should independently evaluate their financial situation and the risks involved. For further details, please consult our Terms of Service and Risk Disclosure.
