Building on the success of NEAR’s first AI x Web3 incubator, the NEAR x Delphi Labs AI Accelerator will provide participating founders and teams with the technical, operational, and financial resources to succeed—including access to $50k in compute credits, advisory support from the NEAR co-founders, funding opportunities beginning at $100k, and token launch support.

Applications are open until October 4 for teams interested in joining the accelerator, which begins on October 14.

NEAR Foundation and Delphi Labs share the common strategic vision of a User-Owned AI ecosystem, built on Web3 rails, that provides genuinely better alternatives to developers and users than the prevailing model of centralized AI controlled by big tech companies. The goal is to maximize the benefits of AI for people and communities—and minimize the potential risks—by putting the power of AI where it belongs: in the hands of users. 

NEAR is a leading blockchain platform designed to accelerate the development of decentralized applications with a focus on usability and scalability—co-founded by Illia Polosukhin, one of the originators of the transformer architecture underpinning the present AI surge. The NEAR ecosystem vision for User-Owned AI includes building a community of aligned teams where innovations are shared openly, ensuring consistency and interoperability across projects. It also includes supporting development of the robust, open infrastructure needed to build and deploy AI applications on a decentralized network, ensuring that the future of AI is not only owned by users but is scalable, secure, and efficient for businesses and founders.

Delphi Labs, a research and development firm specializing in Web3 and DeFi, brings to the accelerator a deep understanding of blockchain technology and a strong track record of supporting successful projects. 

“Crypto x AI is the sector we’re most excited about and, given how early it is, we thought it made a lot of sense for an accelerator cohort,” explains Delphi Labs co-founder José Macedo. “NEAR is the ideal partner given that Illia is one of the original co-authors of the transformer paper and has an unparalleled understanding and network within AI.” The Delphi team’s conviction is that competitive dynamics will result in a world of millions of AI models and that Web3 is the ideal substrate for this many-model world. They are interested in finding exceptional founders who have a strong vision for how Web3 can benefit from AI, or how AI can benefit from Web3, and want to rapidly execute on this vision.

NEAR and Delphi are co-designing the upcoming accelerator cohort experience, slated to begin October 14 with a live kickoff gathering planned. Each participating team will receive mentorship, resources, and opportunities for investment: $100k in investment from NEAR Foundation, along with $50k in compute credits, and potential investment of up to $250k from Delphi Labs for further incubation or acceleration following the completion of the program. The program culminates mid-December at an investor-focused demo day with several top funds and angels in the space. 

NEAR’s first AI x Web3 incubator cohort, which ran from June to August 2024, saw participants achieve significant early milestones while contributing essential pieces to the growing User-Owned AI stack. These milestones include: Hyperbolic hosting the latest open source AI models, including Llama 3.1 405B; Mizu launching their beta platform and attracting 20K users in the first week; and Pond launching their first GNN model for wallet predictions and achieving a 20% prediction rate. The teams have built on the momentum from the incubator to attract serious seed funding interest, with Hyperbolic successfully closing a $7M round.

In addition to the NEAR x Delphi Labs AI Accelerator Program, the NEAR Foundation has also teamed up with Betaworks on an in-person acceleration cohort in New York City focused on consumer AI applications in the Web2 space. Running through November 2024, the Betaworks collaboration welcomes a wider roster of projects into the growing User-Owned AI ecosystem and opens further opportunities for bridging the Web3 x AI space to Web2 consumer AI.

To learn more about the NEAR ecosystem vision for User-Owned AI, Illia’s perspective on the intersection of AI x Web3, and the Delphi Labs team’s investment thesis in the decentralized AI space, check out Delphi’s new podcast episode. 

To follow along with the latest in the User-Owned AI ecosystem, join the NEAR.AI and HZN teams in Singapore (September) or Bangkok (November) and tune in to NEAR AI Office Hours every Tuesday.

The post NEAR Foundation and Delphi Labs Partner on AI x Web3 Accelerator appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

The NEAR AI x HZN Incubation Program is part of the NEAR Foundation’s strategic vision to build a User-Owned AI ecosystem that provides alternatives to the corporate-owned, centralized AI monopolizing the landscape today. By putting the power of AI where it belongs—in the hands of users—the goal is to maximize the benefits of AI for people and communities, provide novel economic opportunities, and accelerate creativity and innovation. 

The inaugural NEAR AI x HZN Incubator cohort includes the following teams:

• Mizu is building the first synthetic open data layer aimed at fostering an open, collaborative data ecosystem for AI developers.
  • NEAR and Mizu are developing expansive, open data platforms that support AI research and applications.

• Pond develops foundational crypto models using Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) to analyze on-chain data and predict future behaviors.
  • NEAR and Pond are collaborating on NEAR-native foundational AI models and tools that enhance decentralized applications’ ability to operate at scale.

• Nevermined creates robust payment infrastructure tailored for AI-commerce, facilitating transactional ease for AI developers.
  • NEAR and Hyperbolic are innovating AI agents for applications to streamline and secure payment processes within the AI ecosystem.

• Hyperbolic provides an open-access AI cloud, featuring a GPU marketplace and AI inference services.
  • NEAR and Hyperbolic are working to provide projects with the computational power and hosting AI models necessary for intensive AI tasks.
    
• Ringfence empowers creators and artists to monetize their work while maintaining secure ownership, aiming to be a Web3 version of DALLE-3 that directly benefits creators.
  • NEAR and Ringfence are collaborating on pathways for data monetization, labeling, and indexing of user-generated content.
    
• Exabits supplies GPU compute in a data center environment, providing the essential physical and technical conditions for serious AI training, inference, and fine-tuning.
  • NEAR and Exabits are working to democratize access to high-performance compute resources for the NEAR ecosystem.
    

“We’re thrilled to welcome these six top-tier AI teams to the User-Owned AI ecosystem on NEAR,” says Illia Polosukhin, Co-Founder of NEAR Protocol and CEO of NEAR Foundation. “Spanning data, models, compute, and inference, these projects are innovating in key parts of the emerging AI stack and represent the best of AI x Web3 projects building today.”

The AI incubation program isn’t just about individual project development: it’s about contributing to a larger vision of a collaborative and user-owned AI ecosystem, one in which users and developers have access to pioneering AI solutions that are secure, decentralized, and empowering end users as well as researchers contributing to open source. Each participating team will contribute to the growing NEAR AI x Web3 infrastructure product stack, ensuring that development is shared across the User-Owned AI ecosystem, and fostering a community-driven approach to AI development.

Participants in the NEAR AI x HZN Incubator will receive extensive support over the program’s initial twelve weeks, and in subsequent phases through May 2025. That support includes access to NEAR’s AI expert network, dedicated technical and token launch support, access to compute, and funding opportunities. 

Interested in following along with these exciting teams building the future of AI x Web3? 

1. Join the NEAR Foundation at ETHCC in Brussels, July 11, for the NEAR AI Tech Showcase and hear directly from the founders in the current incubation cohort. RSVP: NEAR AI Tech Showcase.
   
2. Tune in to the weekly NEAR AI Office Hours every Tuesday with NEAR co-founders Illia Polosukhin and Alex Skidanov.

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For NEARCON ‘23, we’ve designed a special track for AI and the open web: ”AI is NEAR”. Leading the way will be NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, a pioneer in the world of AI. 

Illia will share his perspective on this past year’s AI revolution, including its intersection with the Web3 space on NEAR in the months to come. 

Attention Is All You need

By now, everyone knows ChatGPT, which kicked off the latest AI revolution. But years before OpenAI released its AI chatbot, a group of researchers published a paper that would revolutionize the fields of AI and machine learning. 

The “Attention is All You Need” paper, of which Illia is a co-author, introduced transformers — the “T” in ChatGPT. Illia’s research was instrumental in laying the groundwork for the major LLMs of today, such as ChatGPT and Bard. 

At NEARCON ‘23, Illia will draw on his deep expertise in AI to offer a perspective on how AI and Web3 will converge and how blockchains can help AI develop in a more positive direction, mitigating potential risks and introducing more transparency. He will share the strategy for AI on NEAR going forward, including evolving NEAR governance with AI agents and the emergence of new business models. 

Illia Polosukhin and TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher in a fireside chat

In this candid discussion, Illia and TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher will explore the evolving role of AI in the open web, what we can expect next, and why the current state of AI controlled by major corporations needs to change. 

As the case for open source AI becomes clearer, and as regulators across the globe mitigate risk with new policies, the question now becomes: how can Web3 help AI evolve in a more positive direction?

Join the AI and Open Web chat at NEARCON ‘23

With some of the brightest thought leaders in AI and the open web, NEARCON ‘23 is one not to be missed. Alongside Illia, you will also hear from NEAR co-founder Alex Skidanov, who is currently working on an AI startup that is building smarter large language models, or LLMs, in a more decentralized way. 

There will also be a panel discussion on how AI and blockchain technologies will integrate with modern work environments. Niraj Pant, previously an investor at Polychain who is launching a startup at the intersection of AI and Web3, will also deliver a keynote on how AI can be leveraged for decentralized applications and services.

The full NEARCON ‘23 schedule is now live, so check out the other tracks!

If you’re a student in Spain or Portugal, or a Ukrainian citizen living in Portugal, you’re eligible for free tickets. Hackers also get in for free by applying to the NEARCON IRL Hackathon. 

The post AI is NEAR: Illia Polosukhin on AI and the Open Web at NEARCON ’23 appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

This year’s edition has a special focus on the intersection of AI and Web3. NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin, a pioneer in the AI world, is leading the charge. Let’s  explore the amazing speakers sharing their perspectives on this game-changing new field in must-see NEARCON sessions.

Keynote by Cosmose AI’s Miron Mironiuk

Miron Mironiuk, the mind behind Cosmose AI, will enlighten NEARCON attendees on how AI is shaping the future of consumer behavior analysis with its unique “Shoppertainment” app that seamlessly blends personalization, loyalty, and blockchain-based rewards. KAIKAI has consistently ranked in the top 3 dApps in Web3 since its launch.

AI on NEAR: The Future of Work and Governance by Illia Polosukhin

Illia Polosukhin, another NEAR co-founder and head of Pagoda, will bring his deep roots in AI to this discussion of the future of AI strategy on NEAR. He’ll explore how NEAR is integrating AI to revolutionize work and evolve governance on the blockchain with AI. Topics will include why AI needs blockchain and the emergence of new business models as both AI and blockchain mature.

Illia Polosukhin in Conversation With TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher

In this candid discussion, Illia will join TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher to discuss the evolving role of AI in the open web and what we can expect in the coming years. As the case for open source AI becomes clearer and as regulators across the world introduce new policies designed to mitigate risk, how can Web3 help this revolutionary tech evolve in a more positive direction? Join this fireside chat to learn more. 

AI + Blockchain = Future of Work

This dynamic panel discussion will delve into the transformative potential of integrating AI and blockchain technologies in modern work environments. If you’re curious what the future of work will look like with AI on the open web, you’ll find those thoughts here. 

AI+Web3 Keynote from Niraj Pant

Niraj Pant, previously an investor at Polychain and now building a startup at the intersection of AI and Web3, will provide key insights into how AI can be leveraged for decentralized applications and services.

AI Keynote by Alexander Skidanov

When Alexander Skidanov and Illia Polosukhin originally founded NEAR, it was as an AI company called NEAR.ai. After transforming NEAR into a blockchain network, and working on its well-known Nightshade sharding technique, Alex turned his attention back to AI and founded an AI startup building smarter large language models, or LLMs, in a more decentralized way. 

To get more details on these sessions, and to check out the full speakers list and agenda, head on over to nearcon.org.

Wrap-Up and Next Steps

NEARCON ’23 is set to blow last year’s away, with some of the brightest thought leaders in AI and the open web. And with NEAR’s co-founder Illia Polosukhin being an OG in the AI space, you can bet that the AI track at NEARCON will be awesome. So whether you’re a developer, an entrepreneur, or just a curious mind, NEARCON ‘23 has something for you. 

And let’s not forget, if you’re a student in Spain or Portugal, or a Ukrainian citizen living in Portugal, you’re eligible for free tickets. Hackers can also get in for free by participating in our hackathon event.
NEAR is already delivering on its promise of a blockchain that is simple, scalable, and secure. Now’s your chance to be part of bringing AI into the open web. Register for NEARCON ’23 today and witness firsthand how NEAR is shaping the future of AI and decentralization.

The post AI is NEAR: The Future of AI on the Open Web at NEARCON ‘23 appeared first on NEAR Protocol.

Called KAIKAINOW, it brings together artificial intelligence and blockchain to help users stay informed and engaged with the world around them without the hassle of unlocking their phones. 

KAIKAINOW, an opt-in technology, sits on a user’s home screen. It offers a variety of curated content, including news, language learning, games, and trending stories which would be interspersed between users’ very own personal wallpaper pictures.

“We check our smartphone lock screens on average 80 times a day, always seeing the same  wallpaper backdrop. Imagine, instead of seeing the same image over and over again you see it every other time, while enjoying personalized content during remaining interactions,” says Miron Mironiuk, Founder and CEO of Cosmose AI. 

KAIKAINOW changes that by harnessing cutting edge AI technology, and pairing it with open web tools found on the NEAR blockchain to ensure the experience is tailored to the user while always adhering to the highest privacy standards.

“The launch of KAIKAINOW by COSMOSE AI shows how far we’ve come in respects to transforming Web3 from an innovative idea to a something that can deliver real world benefits to consumers, while also helping foster brand loyalty and business growth in the retail space,” says Marieke Flament, CEO of the NEAR Foundation. 

“We are thrilled to align ourselves with such a fantastic, rapidly growing tech firm such as Cosmose AI and look forward to seeing how it will truly transform the world of retail and get the world closer to Web3 mass adoption.”

Blockchain meets AI 

Publishers and brands provide the content and KAIKAINOW enhances the experience by allowing users to unlock rewards via KAI-CHING, a native token pegged to the US Dollar built on the NEAR Protocol. These tokens can then be used to access exclusive offers only available to KAIKAINOW users. 

Thanks to KAI-CHING, shoppers and retailers benefit from shorter payment processing time and significantly lower fees.

By building both consumer products and its token on NEAR protocol, Cosmose AI is accelerating its Web3 offerings with one of the world’s leading, open source blockchain platforms and further advancing the AI-driven retail ecosystem.

To date, Cosmose AI has served over 20 million stores and reached one billion phones globally. The integration of NEAR technologies means that Cosmose can ensure that users maintain complete control over their data and benefit from the ecosystem they help create. This approach ensures the highest level of privacy for users and aligns with the Company’s commitment to user safety.

Blockchain’s digital record, paired with NEAR’s open web tooling, means AI services can help improve trust in data integrity and, by extension, in the recommendations that AI provides. Using blockchain to store and distribute AI models provides an audit trail, and pairing blockchain and AI can enhance data security. 

NEAR is helping partners like Cosmose AI harness these tools to create better products that serve customers and partners equally. 

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