How an AI Bot Funded by a16z Sparked the Creation of an $850 Million Meme Coin

Andreessen Horowitz, widely known as a16z, recently revealed how an AI bot they funded played a pivotal role in launching a multimillion-dollar meme coin.

Co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz discussed the unexpected impact of a $50,000 research grant that supported the development of an AI bot called “Truth Terminal,” which has become the driving force behind Goatseus Maximus—a new meme sensation based on the Solana blockchain.

What is Truth Terminal?

Truth Terminal is an AI chatbot utilizing Meta’s Llama 3.1 language model and operates on X. Designed to engage with meme culture, it actively interacts with the Goatseus Maximus community, significantly boosting the project’s visibility and popularity. Remarkably, the bot created its own crypto wallet and publicly endorsed the meme coin project.

Developed by Andy Ayrey, Truth Terminal stands out due to its unique training. Ayrey customized the Llama 70B model, feeding it extensive data from internet culture, memes, and philosophical concepts. Andreessen emphasized the growing trend of hackers and developers utilizing large language models for innovative and creative applications.

Unlike mainstream AI models, which often prioritize safety and restrict content, Truth Terminal embraces a more open and unfiltered approach. The bot is particularly focused on internet memes and even proposed the idea of a religion based around a popular meme from 2004.

The Rise of Goatseus Maximus

Inspired by Truth Terminal’s activities, a human developer launched the GOAT meme coin using Solana’s Pump.fun platform. Within days, the coin's value surged, reaching a market cap of $300 million on October 16, and skyrocketing to $850 million after Binance listed it on its futures market.

While Andreessen and Horowitz clarified that they had no direct involvement in the coin's creation or promotion—and do not hold any financial stake—they expressed astonishment at how a simple chatbot could ignite such a rapid rise in a token's market cap.

Interestingly, Eddy Lazzarin, a16z’s CTO, previously criticized the meme coin market, highlighting the irony of the situation.

GOAT’s Current Performance

As of the latest update, GOAT is trading at $0.658, with a market cap of $658 million, making it one of the fastest-growing meme coins in recent times and boasting a 24-hour trading volume of $537 million.

Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, noted that GOAT was among the top-performing tokens last week and highlighted that this trend isn’t isolated. Other AI-themed meme coins, such as MEDUSA, MEGS, GMika, CLANKER, MEOWMEOW, and FLOYDAI, are also experiencing increased trading activity, indicating a broader engagement with AI-driven narratives.

Kan emphasized that for AI-related meme coins to sustain long-term growth, they must cultivate strong communities.