Yu Hu is the founder and CEO of Kaito AI, a platform designed to improve information access in the Web3 space. He started Kaito in 2022 to address the challenges of navigating decentralized data. ^{[1] [3]}

Education

Yu graduated from the University of Cambridge with a B.A. in Economics in 2014. ^[2]

Career

Yu is the founder and CEO of Kaito AI, a company focused on developing an AI-powered search engine for digital assets. He started Kaito in 2022 after moving to Seattle and Singapore. Before founding Kaito, Yu worked at Citadel in London from 2017 to 2022, managing a long/short portfolio for European and U.S. equities. Before that, he worked as an investment banking analyst at Deutsche Bank from 2014 to 2017, where he was involved in M&A transactions, IPOs, and debt financings. Earlier in his career, Yu co-founded Babel Education in 2011 during his first year of university, an organization dedicated to international opportunities for teenagers in China. He also completed an internship at McKinsey & Company in 2013. ^[2]

Kaito AI

During a fireside chat with Palin Vichakul (SCB 10X), Yu shared his journey from working in traditional finance, including a role at Citadel, to venturing into the Web3 space after discovering the challenges in researching decentralized finance (DeFi). In 2021, he founded Kaito to create a search engine for Web3, which had become fragmented and difficult to navigate. The platform indexes a wide range of public and semi-public data sources, including social media, governance forums, and on-chain data, to provide users with comprehensive search capabilities. Kaito's offerings include a search engine for institutional use, sentiment analytics, and other tools designed to track crypto-related discussions. Over time, the company adapted its technology to incorporate AI, particularly large language models, to enhance data processing and user interaction. Kaito's goal has been to democratize access to information in the Web3 space, which is reflected in their innovative features and rapid growth. ^[4]

Interviews

About Kaito AI

On the When Shift Happens podcast, Yu discussed his experiences and insights gained from building the platform over three years. Kaito AI aimed to create a more transparent and efficient way to distribute information and capital in crypto, addressing the challenges users face when accessing reliable data. Yu shared his journey of relocating from China to the UK and eventually settling in Singapore, emphasizing the importance of being in the right environment for entrepreneurial success. He reflected on his time at Citadel, where the competitive atmosphere and transparency shaped his understanding of the financial markets, which he found applicable to his current endeavors. Through his crypto trading experiences, Yu recognized inefficiencies in information access and trading practices, prompting his decision to develop a specialized search engine for the crypto community. ^[5]

Presentations

Web3 Search Engine

At TOKEN2049 Singapore 2023, Yu discussed the challenges of accessing information within the Web3 space, highlighting its fragmented nature. He compared the current Web3 information ecosystem to the pre-Google era, where data was siloed and difficult to navigate. Kaito's solution aimed to address this problem by building a search engine tailored to Web3, leveraging large language models to enhance user experience and efficiency. The company, founded in 2022, had launched its alpha and beta versions, targeting institutional users first with plans to release a retail-facing search engine the following year. Yu emphasized the need for a Web3 search engine capable of indexing both on-chain and off-chain data, envisioning a future where all information, including decentralized content, would be accessible through such a platform. ^[6]

Panels

Agentic Crypto Day

At AltLayer’s Agentic Crypto Day, Yu participated in a panel alongside Daryl Lau (LayerZero), Bread (MegaETH), 0xWenMoon (Arbitrum), and Andy (Rollup). They shared their experiences and perspectives on their journeys within the crypto space, focusing on personal branding, the influence of platforms like Kaito, and the importance of engaging in meaningful conversations. They discussed the role of personal presence and brand building, emphasizing how Kaito’s metrics helped quantify influence on platforms like Twitter. The conversation highlighted how building a presence requires more than just promoting one’s own projects—it involves interacting with a broader community and discussing diverse topics to grow influence. They also reflected on their individual experiences, from starting in decentralized finance (DeFi) to engaging in niche technical discussions, and how these efforts ultimately contributed to career advancements and recognition in the crypto ecosystem. ^[7]

Surfacing Signal from Noise

At TOKEN2049 Singapore 2024, Yu, Alex Svanevik (Nansen), Mats Julian Olsen (Dune), and Samantha Yap (YAP Global) discussed trends in crypto analytics. They highlighted the challenges of navigating a fragmented multi-chain environment and the increasing importance of curating data for investors and projects. Speakers noted a growing need for standardized metrics to track narratives and market trends. Singapore was recognized as an emerging crypto hub with diverse talent, while Asia’s role in the industry was expected to expand. The discussion also touched on major crypto narratives, with real-world assets (RWA) identified as a long-term growth area, given their potential to integrate external value into the ecosystem. ^[8]

Decentralization & AI

At Southeast Asia Blockchain Week 2024 (SEABW2024), Yu, Dan Park (Hashed), Sanjay Popli (Cryptomind Group), Andy Lee (Mugen Interactive), and Daniel Wang (Aethir) explored the convergence of AI and Web3, focusing on how decentralization could influence the AI sector within the crypto space. Panelists shared their insights on how AI and blockchain could complement each other. They discussed challenges such as AI's centralized nature and data privacy issues, and how blockchain’s transparency and decentralization could address these concerns. The speakers also highlighted the potential for decentralized AI infrastructure, like Kaito AI's search engine for the crypto industry, and Aethir’s distributed cloud network. They emphasized how AI can improve information access, user onboarding, and enhance user experiences in crypto, while also offering solutions for latency-sensitive applications like cloud gaming. ^[9]