Chris Zacharia
Founder, Bitstarter
Chris Zacharia founded Bitstarter as what its launch release called an on-ramp for builders on Bittensor, letting AI teams raise funds from the network's TAO holders.
Why the room needs them.
Chris Zacharia, founder of Bitstarter, a crowdfunding platform for AI start-ups on Bittensor, spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026 in June. Zacharia took part in the Bittensor Track's Proof of Pitch session on the Taostats Stage on 3 June 2026.
The full account.
Chris Zacharia is the founder of Bitstarter, a crowdfunding platform, incubator and accelerator for AI start-ups building on Bittensor, the decentralised AI network. The Bitstarter website describes two tracks: a Crowdloan Launchpad, where teams pitch subnet ideas to the Bittensor community for backing from holders of the network's TAO token, and a Machine Learning Incubator, where machine learning teams can apply for a funded subnet. According to the site, pledges are made in TAO on-chain and held in smart contracts, released only when teams hit their goals.
Bitstarter launched with a livestream investment round on 21 November 2025, from 5pm to 7pm UK time, announced in a press release datelined London. The release named Zacharia as founder, described Bitstarter as "the first crowdfunding platform designed for AI startups building on decentralized infrastructure" and quoted Zacharia: "Bittensor is the largest decentralized AI network, but it has no on-ramp for builders." On 4 December 2025 the newsletter A Bittensor Journey reported that AlphaCore, a subnet project, had raised 440 TAO through Bitstarter in four days from more than 100 unique contributors, and that X Spaces co-hosted by Zacharia had helped build momentum for the raise.
Zacharia has also worked with the Bittensor company Macrocosmos. Macrocosmos credits Zacharia as co-author of "The big ask: What does Bittensor need to do to breakthrough?", published on 25 April 2025, and its own posts of September 2025 and February 2026 refer to Zacharia as Communications Lead, the latter in describing an October 2025 livestream.
Zacharia spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026, the invitation-only executive summit organised by X Ventures at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Louvre Palace, on 2–3 June 2026. On 2 June, from 13:00 to 14:00 in the Roundtable Lounge, Zacharia spoke at the side event "Machine Learning Workshop: Building the Future of Decentralised AI". On 3 June, from 17:15 to 19:00 on the Taostats Stage, Zacharia took part in the pitch session "Proof of Pitch - Bittensor Track: Live Crowdfunding with Bitstarter", which the programme also lists for Jacob Steeves, Marcus (Mog) Graichen and Mike Grantis. A preview of the track published by SimplyTao on 21 May 2026 billed Zacharia as Founder of Bitstarter.
Years of shipping.
Lines that keep proving correct.
“Bittensor is the largest decentralized AI network, but it has no on-ramp for builders.”
“Whether AI or not, start-ups success depends on one critical pivot: how well they adapt to their surrounding ecosystem - of builders, businesses, and backers alike”
What they have built, written, and backed.
Built
- BitstarterCrowdfunding platform, incubator and accelerator for AI start-ups on Bittensor, with a Crowdloan Launchpad and a Machine Learning Incubator; launched with a livestream investment round on 21 November 2025.
Chris at Proof of Talk Paris 2026
The next Proof of Talk is in Abu Dhabi.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, 3–4 December 2026. Admission is by application, and the room is capped at 2,000.
Request access