NFT-Licensed AI Agents Power $13M Trustless Data Revolution
Swarm Network, a decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) project, has secured $13 million in funding to develop a protocol that converts offchain data into verifiable onchain information. Of the total raised, $10 million was sourced through the sale of NFT-based agent licenses, which grant holders the ability to operate agents and earn daily rewards by contributing to the network’s maintenance. Strategic investors, including the Sui Foundation, Ghaf Capital, Brinc, Y2Z, and Zerostage, contributed the remaining $3 million. The involvement of Sui, Ghaf, and Brinc was facilitated by Swarm’s participation in SuiHub’s Dubai-based global accelerator program [1].
The protocol has attracted early interest from AI applications, including Rollup News, an AI-powered fact-checking platform that has already seen 128,000 users verify over 3 million posts. The project’s use of NFTs as licensing tools reflects a broader trend in the blockchain and AI convergence, where tokenization is being explored as a mechanism to incentivize participation and data verification in decentralized systems [1].
The recent funding aligns with growing interest in the intersection of blockchain and artificial intelligence. Major players in the space, including hedge fund Numerai, have drawn significant commitments from traditional finance institutions, such as JPMorgan Asset Management, which has pledged up to $500 million. Additionally, crypto exchange Kraken recently acquired Capitalise.ai, a no-code trading automation platform that integrates AI with natural-language processing. Meanwhile, some traditional crypto infrastructure providers, like TeraWulf, are shifting their focus entirely to AI hosting, illustrating the sector’s rapid evolution [1].
Industry experts have predicted that AI agents—autonomous bots capable of performing tasks on behalf of users—will play an increasingly prominent role in decentralized ecosystems. Comments from Coinbase developers suggest that these agents could become Ethereum’s “biggest power users,” reinforcing the potential for AI to reshape user interaction with blockchain networks. These agents are anticipated to play a key role in improving the trustworthiness of AI by decentralizing its infrastructure and decision-making processes [1].
Analysts have also pointed to the potential for AI agents to influence governance and decision-making within decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). The idea of using token-based incentives to train AI agents for specific tasks, such as data verification or predictive analytics, has gained traction, with some projects exploring models where users are rewarded in tokens for improving the accuracy and efficiency of AI systems. This approach aligns with Swarm’s broader vision of creating a trustless, decentralized AI infrastructure [1].
The expansion of AI in the blockchain space reflects a broader shift in investor sentiment. While speculative trading and gaming-based tokens have declined in popularity, projects combining AI with decentralized infrastructure have attracted renewed attention. The success of Swarm Network’s fundraising underscores the potential for innovative models that leverage AI for data verification, community governance, and network security. As these systems evolve, they may redefine how decentralized applications (dApps) interact with AI, offering greater transparency and user control [1].
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[1] Swarm Network 13M Funding for Decentralized AI (https://cointelegraph.com/news/swarm-network-13m-funding-decentralized-ai)