Acurast Raises $11M to Redefine Computing With A Smartphone-Driven Network

Acurast is revolutionizing computing by tapping into the power of billions of smartphones completely eliminating the need for traditional data centers. Its verifiable, scalable, and confidential compute network allows users to run secure applications on decentralized infrastructure at scale, without compromising performance or privacy.

The company has raised a total of $11 million through a mix of non-dilutive grants and token-based rounds between 2023 and 2025. This includes an oversubscribed public token sale on CoinList in May 2025 that brought in $5.4 million.

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Acurast is backed by leading industry figures such as Dr. Gavin Wood (Co-founder of Ethereum; Founder of Polkadot), Leonard Dörlochter (Founder, peaq), Michael van de Poppe (Founder, MN Capital), Scytale Digital, Ogle (Founder, GlueNet; listed in CoinDesk’s Most Influential), and Vineet Budki (CEO, Sigma Capital).

The company has also announced that its Genesis Mainnet will officially launch on November 17, 2025, along with the introduction of its native $ACU token.

Alessandro De Carli, Founder of Acurast, said: “Mainnet marks the moment Acurast becomes a genuinely open, global compute fabric ready for real-world integration.

Billions of smartphones are the most battle-tested hardware on earth. By turning idle phones into verifiable, confidential compute, we remove the gatekeepers, reduce the costs, and bring secure, trustless computation to anyone, anywhere, and all without a data centre.”

Acurast has demonstrated strong product traction through its incentivized testnet, which has scaled to enterprise-level performance. More than 146,443 smartphones have joined the network as compute providers, developers have run 85,784+ deployments, the system has processed over 489 million on-chain transactions, and 179,000 on-chain accounts have been created.

These real-world devices are already handling mission-critical workloads that require strict confidentiality and integrity. Programs like Cloud Rebellion further expand the network’s reach while rewarding early contributors.

Acurast’s core strength lies in its tamper-resistant execution on consumer smartphones combined with secure hardware verification. Unlike traditional compute marketplaces that depend on self-reported server specs or server-based TEEs, Acurast cryptographically verifies each device and runs workloads in secure enclaves. This ensures that even the device owner cannot access sensitive data delivering censorship-resistant, highly distributed, and verifiable compute.

Vineet Budki, CEO of Sigma Capital, said: “Acurast is creating a new, user-owned compute layer that aligns perfectly with where AI is heading.

Hardware verification, enclave-based confidentiality, and a massive potential footprint of smartphones combine into a defensible moat that server-centric models can’t compete with.”

“What stands out about Acurast is execution. They’ve shipped, they’ve grown real usage, and they’ve proven demand before mainnet,” said Michael van de Poppe, Founder of MN Capital.

“Turning everyday phones into revenue-generating, verifiable compute nodes is a powerful unlock for inclusion and for scale. We’re excited to back a team that’s building for real-world adoption.”

About Acurast

Acurast Association builds a real decentralized compute network powered by smartphones. It delivers scalable, secure, and verifiable computing without relying on data centers. By turning everyday phones into a global compute mesh, Acurast enables fast, private, and truly decentralized processing for applications at scale.