Oblong Secures $7.5 Million to Enter the AI-driven Digital Asset Space with TAO Accumulation

On June 9, Nasdaq-listed Oblong, Inc. (OBLG), a technology service provider specializing in innovative IT solutions, announced a $7.5 million private placement through a securities purchase agreement, issuing 1,989,392 common shares at $3.77 each. The deal, led by institutional investors focused on emerging technologies, is expected to close on June 11. The bulk of the proceeds will be used to acquire $TAO, the native token of the Bittensor network, as Oblong shifts its strategy toward decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain integration.

Bittensor and $TAO: Powering Decentralized AI

Bittensor is an open-source protocol that leverages blockchain technology to create a decentralized machine learning network. Unlike traditional AI systems controlled by centralized entities, Bittensor enables global contributors to share and train AI models collaboratively, with $TAO serving as the network’s native token. $TAO facilitates transactions, rewards contributors for valuable data or computational resources, and provides governance and access rights within the ecosystem. The protocol operates through subnets—specialized clusters tackling tasks like text generation, data storage, and complex problem-solving—currently boasting 118 active subnets.

Following the news on June 6 that Bittensor’s subnets reached 118, the price of $TAO rose from $353.68 to $395.57 over three days, a 11.87% increase, according to CoinGecko. Notably, with Oblong’s announcement today of its $TAO accumulation plan, $TAO’s price surged 5.1% in the past 24 hours.

Oblong’s $TAO-Focused Strategy

Oblong’s announcement underscores its intent to accumulate $TAO tokens as a core component of its pivot into decentralized AI. The company plans to allocate the majority of the $7.5 million raise to purchasing $TAO, with a smaller portion supporting software development to enhance Bittensor’s infrastructure, potentially through participation in Subnet 0 for token-based revenue.

Oblong stated that Bittensor’s tokenomics model underpins its confidence in accumulating $TAO for the long term. “No venture capital, no insider allocations, and no vesting cliffs that distort market value. This rare structure gives Oblong confidence to accumulate $TAO for the long term, unlike most altcoins, which fail to store value relative to Bitcoin.” Bittensor noted in the press release.

This move mirrors strategies like Strategy’s Bitcoin treasury model, with speculation that Oblong aims to become a “TAO vault.” However, Oblong’s lack of blockchain experience, combined with the currently limited market focus on decentralized AI, may pose risks to its $TAO accumulation efforts.

Following the announcement, as of press time, Oblong’s stock (OBLG) rose 6.77% in pre-market trading, reflecting market optimism about its strategic pivot.

Looking Ahead

Oblong’s pivot into $TAO and Bittensor comes at a time of growing momentum for decentralized AI. By prioritizing $TAO accumulation, Oblong positions itself to capitalize on Bittensor’s growth as a leader in decentralized AI. Oblong’s $TAO accumulation and commitment to the Bittensor ecosystem could bring capital support and renewed attention to Bittensor. Nevertheless, the company faces challenges due to its limited blockchain expertise. Investors will closely monitor how Oblong balances $TAO accumulation with software development to deliver value.

Oblong CEO Peter Holst commented, “Bittensor is an open network for intelligence, the same way the original internet was for information. By building on this open platform, problems can be solved collaboratively at global scale, with the world’s brightest minds incentivized by $TAO. With over 25 years of experience scaling technology businesses, we believe we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this next major inflection point in AI and digital infrastructure.”