Eightco Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: ORBS) said it has secured $125 million in new institutional funding commitments, led by $75 million from Bitmine (NYSE: BMNR). ARK Invest committed at least $25 million, while Payward, the parent company of Kraken, also committed $25 million. The company said the capital will support its expansion into investments tied to next-generation artificial intelligence, blockchain infrastructure, and global digital consumer platforms.
OpenAI and Beast Industries investments already disclosed
Alongside the fundraising announcement, ORBS said it has completed its initial strategic investments, deploying $50 million into OpenAI and $25 million into MrBeast and Beast Industries. The company described those positions as placing it closer to frontier AI development and large-scale digital content creation. ORBS also said it continues to hold Worldcoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, as well as Ethereum, citing a long-term conviction in the ERC-20 protocol.
Board and advisory roles shift with new partners
Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee is joining the ORBS board of directors, while Brett Winton, ARK Invest’s Chief Futurist, will serve as an advisor to the board. Dan Ives will step down as ORBS chairman. In remarks included in the release, Lee said Bitmine invested because ORBS sits at the center of major future AI needs and developments, pointing to links between Worldcoin’s proof-of-human concept, OpenAI foundation models, and the audience reach of MrBeast.
ARK Invest and Payward outline the thesis
Cathie Wood, founder, CEO and CIO of ARK Invest, said ORBS is pursuing a strategy at the intersection of AI, blockchain, and creator-led platforms, adding that ARK focuses on technologies with the potential to transform the global economy. Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said technological shifts often concentrate value in a small number of platforms and described ORBS as positioning itself where AI, cryptographic infrastructure, and global digital distribution converge.
Bitmine’s crypto strategy also frames the partnership
The release describes Bitmine as a U.S.-based Bitcoin miner that is deploying excess capital toward becoming an Ethereum treasury company. It said the firm plans to launch MAVAN, a dedicated staking infrastructure network for Bitmine assets, in Q1 2026. Eightco also listed a broader group of backers, including MOZAYYX, World Foundation, Coinfund, Discovery Capital Management, FalconX, Pantera, and GSR.
The announcement included standard forward-looking statement language. Eightco said actual results could be affected by risks tied to minority investments in private companies, potential markdowns on strategic holdings, capital deployment delays, fundraising constraints, Nasdaq listing compliance, and regulatory changes affecting digital assets or artificial intelligence.