SAN FRANCISCO — GaiaNet, a new AI infrastructure project that aims to decentralize current AI agent softwares, has raised a $10 million Series Seed Round funding, with key strategic advisors that include Generative Ventures’s Lex Sokolin, Republic Capital’s Brian Johnson, 7RIDGE’s Shawn Ng, Kishore Bhatia, EVM Capital, Mirana Ventures, Mantle EcoFund and ByteTrade Lab.
GaiaNet is a distributed AI infrastructure that aims to decentralize the current AI agent softwares, paving the way for a new era of decentralized AI interaction and application. Instead of setting up centralized servers, GaiaNet is harnessing a distributed network of edge nodes, controlled by individuals and businesses, to host AI models based on their proprietary domain knowledge and expertise. In this model, each GiaiaNet node acts as an AI twin (agent) of a real-world expert or personality – such as a university teaching assistant, a crypto trader, or a customer service agent – performing skilled knowledge tasks on behalf of its creator or operator.
In this phase, the project targets outstanding issues in various industries, including higher education, specifically addressing the shortage of teaching assistants in high-enrollment courses such as entry-level computer science and engineering. GaiaNet allows the creation of a personalized AI chatbot adept at responding and catering to queries from students with various backgrounds and expertise in its distributed and decentralized network.
“Our mission with GaiaNet is to redefine the way humans and AI engage and to enable sovereign infrastructure for interacting with AI,” Matt Wright, CEO of GaiaNet said. “With the recent investment, we’re able to take a step further in our commitment to redefining the boundaries of AI, making it more accessible, data bias-resistant, collaborative, and privacy-centric.”
GaiaNet is already blazing a path to revolutionize industries with advanced AI solutions with its first major partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, announced earlier this year. The initiative, facilitated by a strategic partnership between GaiaNet and UC Berkeley’s FHL Vive Center, will introduce decentralized AI TA technology into more Computer Science and STEM courses by utilizing AI inference power under a distributed Gaia Network.
This partnership, which transcends mere technological advancement, aims to enhance educational accessibility and serves as a precursor for the application of decentralized AI across diverse sectors. Additionally, it aims to create a distributed network of GenAI Agents that is not in control of a centralized person or entity. By integrating GaiaNet into higher education curriculum, a practical demonstration of how decentralized AI can innovate beyond traditional boundaries is set in motion, marking a significant step towards making high-quality education more accessible and efficient.
In addition to building the network infrastructure, funding will support the development of new AI training models for developers and private data holders. It will also help to increase the number of network nodes that once combined, have the potential to rival the AI capability of ChatGPT 3.5 and beyond.
