The market for decentralized physical infrastructure networks continues to experience significant growth, with funding for early-stage projects increasing by 296% year-over-year.
According to details shared by cryptocurrency market intelligence platform Messari on X, early-stage DePIN projects have raised over $246 million across 70 deals as of August 1, 2024. IoTeX (IOTX) is the platform that has recorded one of the largest funding rounds in this ecosystem so far.
In terms of volume, this figure represents a 296% increase over the previous year, Messari noted. By comparison, the total market capitalization of the main DePIN projects has increased by 400% over the past year, bringing the sector currently to $20 billion.
DePIN sector is growing
The growth of the decentralized physical infrastructure network market has seen a number of new projects attract the most attention from venture capitalists and other investors.
These emerging projects are also likely to challenge top AI and DePIN platforms such as Filecoin (FIL), Helium (HNT), and The Graph (GRT). Some of the new players are in decentralized gaming infrastructure, AI data layer, and robotics.
DePIN’s largest financing deals to date
According to Messari, two of DePIN’s three largest deals in 2024 as of August 1 are investments in L1 projects IoTeX and peaq.
IoTeX is a modular infrastructure platform that raised $50 million in a strategic funding round in April. Investors included Borderless Capital, Amber Group, and Foresight Ventures, among other venture capital firms. Meanwhile, peaq is a DePIN real asset and machine platform that raised $30 million in a strategic funding round led by Borderless Capital and Generative Ventures.
Incomes still low
Despite the significant increase in funding and overall market capitalization growth, the DePIN sector has not seen a substantial increase in revenue.
Only four of the industry’s largest DePIN-focused projects rank among the top eight protocols by revenue.
“The weak overall revenue growth reflects the fact that the DePIN sector continues to be primarily demand-constrained,” Messari analysts wrote.
This is largely due to centralized platforms that hold a larger market share thanks to their widely integrated solutions.
