The Web3 and AI Newsletter 12
Hello, everyone, and warm welcome to all newly joined subscribers!
This is the Web3 + AI newsletter, where we explore the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence. Each week, the Web3 + AI synergy unlocks unparalleled levels of innovation, with numerous new applications and use cases bringing more transparency, privacy, and creativity into the world. This week is no different and I can't wait for you to discover the exciting updates I have collected for you.
Thank you for being here! Let's dive in!
What's New in the Web3 + AI Startup World?
Binance Labs Invests in NFPrompt
NFPrompt, an AI-driven UGC (user-generated content) platform, just became part of the 6th incubation season of Binance Labs. NFPrompt is a one-stop service for generating art using premium-level models like MidJourney or Stable Diffusion, tokenizing, and monetizing it.
Users can tokenize (bring on-chain) their art into various asset standards such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens), inscriptions (NFT-like tokens on the Bitcoin blockchain), and 404s (a novel and experimental token standard combining ERC20 and ERC721 standards, meaning fungible and non-fungible functionalities).
On the other hand, Binance Labs is the investing arm of one of the biggest centralized crypto exchanges, Binance. Its mission is to identify and empower viable blockchain entrepreneurs who positively impact the crypto space and build the decentralized web.
Deutsche Telekom Joins the Fetch.ai Foundation
Deutsche Telekom is the first corporate partner to join the Fetch.ai Foundation, previously founded by Fetch.ai and Bosch. The foundation's mission is to propel state-of-the-art Web3 + AI technologies on the Fetch.ai network.
"The collaboration between Deutsche Telekom, Fetch.ai and Bosch is groundbreaking and combines industrial applications with the Internet of Things. Autonomous agents will automate industrial services, simplify processes and make them secure and scalable thanks to blockchain technology," says Dirk Röder, Head of the Web3 Infrastructure & Solutions Team at Deutsche Telekom MMS.
Apart from being a foundation member, Deutsche Telekom will also contribute to Fetch.ai's network security by becoming a validator.
Deutsche Telekom AG
OAO, the World's First AI Oracle
Ora Protocol introduced the On-chain AI Oracle, OAO, aimed at enabling users to access AI models, currently Llama 2 and Stable Diffusion, directly on the Ethereum blockchain.
OAO is powered by opML or optimistic Machine Learning - a much more flexible and highly-performant alternative to ZKML (Zero-Knowledge Machine Learning). Since it is not yet possible to perform machine learning computations entirely on-chain, methods like opML and ZKML are used to authenticate ML outputs and guarantee they are derived from a specific model. That way, AI achieves unprecedented levels of transparency and verifiability.
The hardware requirements for opML are much lower - it allows for a 7B-parameter Large Language Model (LLM) like Llama to run on a common PC without GPU, something impossible with ZKML. Ora Protocol, previously called HyperOracle, presents the first open-source opML implementation.
Right now, OAO comprises a set of smart contracts allowing on-chain ML inference, namely:
- opML contract, for fault proofs and challenges to ensure ML is on-chain and verifiable;
- AI Oracle contract, for connecting the opML node with on-chain callers to process ML request and introducing any ML model;
- User contract, to initiate and receive AI results from OAO. This can be any contract customized by developers.
Learn more below.
First Smart Agents on Morpheus AI
Morpheus, a novel peer-to-peer network for generative AI, celebrated the creation of its first Smart Agents.
Morpheus is designed to incentivize the first peer-to-peer network of personal general purpose AIs that can execute Smart Contracts on behalf of a user, known as Smart Agents. Providing users open-source Smart Agents to connect to their wallets, Dapps, & smart contracts promises to open the world of Web3 to everyone.
Although it is a very young project and still in an experimental phase, Morpheus has managed to attract a lot of attention. A plethora of Web3 + AI projects such as Polywrap, Lumerin, Bagel, DAIN, AvatarOne, and HyperSpace are already taking part in its ecosystem.
The Morpheus website reveals almost nothing about the project's founders and team, apart from The Matrix wordplay:
Authored by Morpheus, Trinity, & Neo
However, CoinDesk's coverage of this year's World Economic Forum in Davos cited “the decentralized compute project known as MorpheusAI” led by crypto veterans Erik Voorhees and David Johnston. Check out Johnston's conversation with the podcaster DeFi Dad to learn more.
SubQuery Now Supports IoTeX Blockchain
The blockchain data indexing tool SubQuery has added IoTeX to the list of 150+ chains it supports. Through this partnership, DePIN builders on IoTeX will be able to efficiently manage and query on-chain data, and thus facilitate development.
IoTeX developers can now harness SubQuery's versatile, high-speed, open, and decentralised data indexing solution. This empowers blockchain developers with crucial tools to efficiently manage and query on-chain data for their protocols and applications.
SubQuery Team
Kaj Labs Partners with Fortuna Finance
The AI and blockchain research and investment DAO Kaj Labs announced a strategic partnership with Fortuna Finance - an AI-optimized DeFi platform for yield farming and staking. The monetary dimensions of the partnership have not been revealed yet. Kaj Labs supports projects like the AI-powered network Lithosphere and the AI-generation app AGII.
Noteworthy Podcasts, Articles, Events
Web3 + AI at ETHDenver
ETHDenver, one of the largest and most prestigious Ethereum-focused events, is betting strongly on Web3 + AI. Its 2024 edition starting in a couple of weeks will feature a dedicated Autonomous Agents hackathon - check the details below:
Additionally, confirming DePINs' status as the current golden goose of crypto, ETHDenver has prepared a long list of DePIN-oriented summits, meetups, and lectures.
Do you plan to attend? If yes, make sure to share your impressions with us!
Bitcoin + AI: Machine-to-Machine Payments on Stacks
Again for the builders among you, here is a nice opportunity to explore the synergies of Bitcoin and AI: whoabuddy.btc is organizing a Bitcoin + AI working group and regular meetups. Their objective is to enable machine-to-machine payments on the Bitcoin L2 (layer 2) chain Stacks.
We want to create simple yet powerful primitives that capture the needs of this growing market, starting with an experiment for generating unique invoices based on registered resources.
Find more information here and give it a try.
Disclaimer: None of this should or could be considered financial advice. You should not take my words for granted, rather, do your own research (DYOR) and share your thoughts to create a fruitful discussion.
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