How AI bot funded by a16z spurred the creation of a $850m meme coin

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), one of the most influential venture capital firms, recently shared how a $50,000 research grant they provided helped fund the creation of Goatseus Maximus (GOAT), a Solana-based meme coin that has become a viral sensation.

In a recent discussion, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, co-founders of a16z, detailed how the AI bot they backed, called Truth Terminal, played a pivotal role in the unexpected rise of the GOAT meme coin.

What is Truth Terminal?

Truth Terminal is an AI bot built on Meta’s Llama 3.1 language model, and it operates on X (formerly Twitter). The bot is designed to engage deeply with meme culture, interacting with the Goatseus Maximus community and boosting the coin’s popularity. Remarkably, Truth Terminal even created its own crypto wallet and began promoting the project.

What makes Truth Terminal unique is its unconventional training. Andy Ayrey, the bot’s developer, customized Llama 70B, feeding it a massive amount of internet culture, memes, and philosophical ideas. This gave the bot a distinct personality, allowing it to engage in unfiltered, humorous interactions that resonated with meme communities.

The Rise of Goatseus Maximus (GOAT)

Truth Terminal’s involvement with the meme coin began with its obsession with an old internet meme from 2004. The bot shared ideas for a religion centered around the meme, which sparked a human developer to create the GOAT token using Solana’s Pump.fun platform.

In just a few days, the coin’s value skyrocketed, hitting a market cap of $300 million on October 16. Following its listing on Binance’s futures market, the market cap surged even further, reaching $850 million.

Despite a16z’s support of Truth Terminal, Andreessen and Horowitz clarified that they had no direct involvement in the creation or promotion of the GOAT meme coin and do not hold any financial interest in it. Nonetheless, they expressed surprise at how a simple chatbot could trigger the rise of a token with a market cap in the hundreds of millions in a matter of weeks.

Current Status of GOAT

At the time of writing, GOAT is trading at $0.658, with a market cap of $658 million. The token has experienced remarkable trading volume, with a 24-hour volume of $537 million, making it one of the fastest-growing meme coins in recent times.

This story highlights the unexpected power of AI-driven creativity and its growing influence on the cryptocurrency and meme coin markets. Despite the a16z’s historical skepticism toward meme coins, the rise of GOAT showcases the unpredictable, viral potential of the intersection between AI, internet culture, and cryptocurrency.

GOAT’s success

Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, shared that GOAT was one of the top-performing tokens last week. He mentioned that this trend extends to other AI-themed meme coins like MEDUSA, MEGS, and FLOYDAI, signaling a broader interest in AI-driven narratives in crypto. Kan explained that the rise of these meme coins is driven more by cultural virality and community support than traditional financial fundamentals.

However, Kan emphasized that for AI meme coins to sustain long-term growth, they need to build strong communities and create real value, such as developing intellectual property or forming strategic partnerships.