0G Foundation has raised more than $30 million selling nodes used for operating its decentralized artificial intelligence platform, the company told Cointelegraph on Jan. 9.
The Web3 AI platform sold almost 85,000 nodes to approximately 8,500 operators, 0G said, equating to roughly $360 per node.
0G said the sale marked Web3’s second-largest node offering ever and the third-largest fundraise for decentralized AI. It takes 0G’s total funds raised to around $400 million.
The Web3 project previously raised venture capital (VC) funding in a pre-seed and seed round, 0G said.
The intersection of blockchain and AI is attracting increasing interest from crypto-focused VC firms, which invested some $213 million into AI-related startups in the third quarter of 2024, according to Messari, a crypto researcher.
Synergies between AI and Web3. Source: Coinbase Ventures
Node economics
0G said node buyers received non-fungible tokens (NFTs) representing claims on the nodes. In exchange for maintaining 0G’s decentralized AI operating system, node operators will earn up to 15% of 0G token emissions over the next three years.
“By monitoring AI behavior and detecting deviations from expected protocols or ethical standards, these nodes can help prevent AI from ‘cheating’ or acting maliciously,” 0G told Cointelegraph in a statement.
“They also play a critical role in supporting the overall robustness and censorship resistance of the 0G network by distributing control over AI alignment.”
Onchain AI agents are multiplying. Source: VanEck
Transformative technology
Industry executives predict agentic AI will transform Web3 in 2025, with cryptocurrency staking and onchain trading emerging as early use cases.
As of December, Web3 hosts approximately 10,000 AI agents, collectively earning millions of dollars each week from onchain activities, according to a report by VanEck.
The asset manager expects upward of 1 million AI agents to populate blockchain networks by the end of 2025.
“AI agents are expected to take on a more prominent role within decentralized communities,” J.D. Seraphine, Web3 AI developer Raiinmaker’s CEO, told Cointelegraph in December.
They will also face challenges, including regulatory hurdles and centralization risks, Michael Casey, co-founder of the Decentralized AI Society, told Cointelegraph.
“Without decentralization, centralized, misaligned systems will drive us off a cliff, especially with AI,” Casey said.
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