NanoCo, the company behind the security-focused AI agent platform NanoClaw, has raised a $12 million seed round following a viral launch that drew interest from top tech investors and even a $20 million acquisition offer. The founders shared the details exclusively with Bitcoin World.
From couch coding to term sheet in six weeks
Gavriel Cohen, who created NanoClaw alongside his brother Lazer, said the project moved from a personal side project to a funded startup in less than six weeks. The seed round was led by Valley Capital Partners, with participation from Docker, Vercel, Monday.com, Slow Ventures, and angel investors including Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue.
Interest in NanoClaw exploded after AI researcher Andrej Karpathy praised it on X, and further accelerated when Singapore’s foreign minister called it his ‘second brain’ in a viral Facebook post. Cohen told Bitcoin World that he received more than 50 direct messages from founders and tech executives asking to invest.
Why they said no to $20 million
Just two weeks after the first six-figure buyout offer, the Cohens received a roughly $20 million acquisition proposal that included jobs to stay and run the company. They declined both. Gavriel Cohen said the decision came after a founder friend advised them that open-source projects grow exponentially more valuable as their communities expand. ‘He was right,’ Cohen said. The brothers shuttered their previous AI marketing startup to focus entirely on NanoClaw.
Building a business around an open-source project
NanoClaw was originally built as a secure alternative to OpenClaw, running AI agents in sandboxed containers rather than directly on a computer. This approach is becoming a standard for safer AI agent deployments, but was novel when the Cohens first coded it. The project has since attracted thousands of users, many of whom are executives at major tech companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, and Accenture, according to the founders.
NanoCo has now started offering enterprise implementation services, a move driven by community demand. ‘These folks don’t want to become NanoClaw IT people,’ Cohen explained, so the company provides forward-deployed engineers to help businesses roll out and support AI agents at scale.
Why this matters for the AI agent market
NanoClaw’s rapid rise reflects a growing demand for secure, containerized AI agent platforms that enterprises can trust with sensitive credentials. The company’s decision to stay independent and build an open-source community-first business model may signal a shift away from the typical venture-funded acquisition path. With partnerships already secured with Docker and Vercel, NanoCo is positioning itself as a key infrastructure layer for the next wave of enterprise AI adoption.
Conclusion
NanoCo’s $12 million seed round and rejection of a $20 million buyout underscore the value investors and acquirers see in secure, open-source AI agent platforms. The Cohens’ bet on community growth and enterprise services will be closely watched as the market for AI agents matures.
FAQs
What is NanoClaw?
NanoClaw is a security-focused open-source alternative to OpenClaw that runs AI agents in sandboxed containers, preventing direct access to a computer’s services and credentials.
Who invested in NanoCo’s seed round?
The $12 million seed round was led by Valley Capital Partners, with participation from Docker, Vercel, Monday.com, Slow Ventures, and angel investors including Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue.
Why did the founders turn down a $20 million buyout?
The Cohens declined the offer after being advised that open-source projects grow more valuable as their communities expand. They chose to build the company independently instead of selling.
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