MNX, a decentralised futures exchange focused on the AI economy, has raised $6.4 million in pre-seed funding.

The Block recently reported that Village Global led the investment. Cambrian, North Island Ventures, Finality Capital and Relay Digital also participated. Angel investors also joined, including prediction market platform Augur, Gnosis co-founder Matt Liston (맷 리스턴) and Gitcoin's Scott Moore (스콧 무어).

MNX was founded last fall by Manifold Markets co-founders Stephen Grugett (스티븐 그루겟) and Ian Phillips (이안 필립스). It is focused on creating a trading venue for AI-related assets that are difficult to trade on existing platforms.

It has four main products. They are futures on AI startup valuations, perpetual futures on shares of AI-related companies, perpetual futures on computing power, and an AI-focused prediction market.

Grugett said the goal is a one-stop platform to trade and hedge the entire AI value chain, from computing and power prices to AI benchmark figures, copper prices, listed stocks and unlisted startup valuations.

MNX is built on the Ethereum layer 2 MegaETH.

MNX operates as a batch auction that collects orders for 200 milliseconds and then processes them together at the same price, rather than processing orders instantly. It is intended to eliminate a speed race and prevent others from stepping into trades. MNX is currently running a private beta with institutional partners on the MegaETH testnet and plans to launch on the mainnet this summer.