Binance's layout in the AI track and which projects may emerge as new leaders in the second half?
Who will be the next leader in the AI & Web3 narrative?
As the main storyline closely related to global technology trends in 2024, the AI & Web3 track saw a small market surge after Binance launched the leading project Bittensor (TAO) in April. The related tokens experienced a general rise, but unfortunately, failed to sustain the momentum. However, beneath the surface, Binance's investment in AI has clearly accelerated:
Since the beginning of this year, whether it's Aggregata being selected for the latest MVB accelerator program, or Binance Labs officially announcing large investments in Sahara AI, Myshell, Sleepless AI, and io.net, all of which have subsequently been listed on Binance, Binance's various investment arms have been frequently active in the AI & Web3 field, significantly increasing the pace.
The grass snakes and the gray lines, the hidden pulse stretches a thousand miles. Binance's increased investment in the AI track is undoubtedly stirring up a new variable, and is highly likely to give rise to a batch of new Alpha projects with astonishing growth and scale, taking over the banner from TAO.
So, under this backdrop, who will become the catalyst for the new round of market trends in "AI & Web3," and which project will become the new focal point for receiving Binance's funds and ecological resources overflow?
Binance's AI layout strategy and investment arms
First, we need to understand how Binance views the AI & Web3 narrative.
In a recent interview, Binance co-founder He Yi publicly shared his views on the development of AI and its integration with blockchain technology, stating that "AI technology is triggering a productivity revolution, its impact far exceeds our imagination. Blockchain technology mainly changes labor relations and the distribution of benefits, while AI directly enhances revolutionary technology for user productivity."
In terms of specific investment strategies, He Yi divides them into several key modules—on the application level, the most common are products like OpenAI's chatbots, which can assist in various tasks such as writing, designing, and video production; behind them are large language model (LLM) development teams; further upstream are computing power providers, where NVIDIA's dominant position in this field makes it difficult for other competitors to compete.
In short, Binance's attention to the AI & Web3 track spans almost all product dimensions. Any potential business model that can provide high-quality products and services is in the potential investment list.
So, if we want to thoroughly explore the projects that Binance has already laid out in the AI narrative, where should we start? In fact, by grasping three main threads, we can capture the bull's nose of any hot narrative that Binance is laying out.
Yes, currently Binance mainly completes the full life cycle layout of different AI track projects (early incubation, investment support, listing trading) through three "investment arms"—incubator model (MVB, Binance Labs incubation program), Binance Labs, and listing tokens on the exchange:
The incubator model, including MVB, Binance Labs incubation program, covers a large number of early-stage teams through a process similar to YC's incubation process, to explore early potential projects in a wide net-like manner, provide support covering multiple dimensions such as market strategy and user growth, and invest in some projects after final selection, with relatively small amounts to help complete the incubation from 0 to 1;
Binance Labs, as Binance's risk investment and incubation department, is committed to high-quality projects in various fields and domains of Web3, with more mature product architecture, business models, and teams, and larger investment amounts, aiming to provide in-depth resource integration for projects to quickly grow and take a leading position in the market competition;
Listing tokens on the exchange is an important market target for mature encrypted projects, which can help them gain huge exposure and directly reach the largest user and fund pool;
Through these three "investment arms," Binance has almost covered the scattered layout of the full life cycle of different AI track projects (early incubation, investment support, listing trading), thereby promoting the development of AI projects at different stages from various dimensions, and sharing the overall growth dividend of the AI track.
A panoramic inventory of Binance's AI layout
So, based on these three "investment arms," what projects does Binance's AI layout currently include (Note: given the continuous enhancement of the integration trend between AI and Web3, the AI projects listed below do not involve other track projects combined with AI technology, mainly focusing on native AI projects with core elements of artificial intelligence (data processing, model algorithms, computing power training, etc.) and practical application scenarios)?
I. Incubator model (selected and invested)
It should be noted that, as mentioned earlier, the general process of Binance's incubator model (MVB, Binance Labs incubation program) includes selection, incubation camp, observation, and selective investment. Therefore, AI projects related to the incubator model can often be divided into two categories: only selected for incubation, and selected for incubation and further investment. Here, we mainly focus on projects that were selected and received investment:
Privasea (formerly Nulink): A decentralized AI network that uses FHEML to realize the circulation of data value, providing distributed computing resources for FHE AI operations. In May 2022, it was selected for the fourth season of the Binance Labs incubation program, and in March 2024, it announced the completion of a $5 million seed round of financing, with participation from Binance Labs, among others;
DIN (Web3Go): A modular AI native data preprocessing layer, DIN (Web3Go) was selected for the MVB accelerator program in 2023 and completed a $4 million seed round of financing led by Binance Labs in July;
Sleepless AI: A virtual companion game based on AI blockchain, using AIGC and LLM to create rich story-based gameplay and organic interaction with characters. In April 2023, Sleepless AI was officially selected for the 6th season of the MVB accelerator program, and further received investment from Binance Labs through the 6th season of the MVB accelerator program in August 2023;
QnA3.AI: An AI-driven Web3 knowledge sharing platform, selected for the 6th season of the Binance Labs incubation program in September 2023, and further received investment from Binance Labs in March 2024, with the current FDV reaching $77 million;
NFPrompt (NFP): A Web3 content creation platform based on AI, allowing users to create, own, and profit from digital art and NFTs through various AI tools and interfaces. Selected for the 6th season of the Binance Labs incubation program in September 2023, and further received investment from Binance Labs in March 2024;
MyShell: A decentralized AI ecosystem that allows everyone to build, own, and share AI applications. In September 2023, MyShell was selected for the 6th season of the Incubation Program, and in August 2024, Binance Labs officially announced its investment through the 6th season of the incubation program;
Aggregata: A decentralized data market based on AI, which aggregates high-quality data in the AI field and decentralized storage systems, allowing users to fully control their AI element ownership. In March 2024, Aggregata was officially selected for the 7th season of the MVB accelerator program, and further received investment from Binance Labs through the 7th season of the MVB accelerator program in August 2024;
II. Binance Labs (direct investment)
Different from projects that were selected for incubation and further received Binance Labs incubation investment, projects that received direct investment from Binance Labs have larger investment amounts, higher valuations, and are generally more mature Web3 projects in terms of product architecture, business models, and teams.
Arkham: An AI-driven blockchain intelligence and data platform that provides detailed information and visualization tools for on-chain activities. Listed on Binance in July 2023, and in November 2023, Binance Labs officially announced the investment in Arkham's native token ARKM;
Sahara AI: Pioneering the concept of "AI assets," Sahara AI is dedicated to building a blockchain-based AI platform that provides secure control and "copyright" protection for users and developers over their AI assets, ensuring fair attribution and rewards for all contributors. In August 2024, Sahara AI announced the completion of a $43 million financing round, with lead investments from Binance Labs, Polychain, and others;
III. Listing tokens on the exchange
Fetch.ai (FET): A blockchain-based machine learning platform aimed at allowing traditional products to access AI through the Fetch.ai token without changing the underlying business applications. Listed on Binance in February 2019, with a current FDV of $2.8 billion;
NFPrompt (NFP): After being selected for the 6th season of the Binance Labs incubation program and receiving investment from Binance Labs, NFP was listed on Binance Launchpool in December 2023, with a current FDV of $190 million;
Sleepless AI (AI): After being selected for the 6th season of the MVB accelerator program and receiving investment from Binance Labs, AI was listed on Binance Launchpool in January 2024, with a current FDV of $360 million;
Bittensor (TAO): A decentralized AI network composed of smaller, specialized subnets dedicated to different areas of AI. Listed on Binance in April 2024, with a current FDV of $11.4 billion;
io.net: A decentralized cloud computing platform aimed at aggregating GPU resources for AI and machine learning companies. Listed on Binance Launchpool in June 2024, with a current FDV of $1.2 billion;
Overall, in the past, Binance mainly cast a wide net in the AI field through the incubator model (MVB, Binance Labs incubation program); however, Binance Labs' direct investment, with larger investment amounts and true involvement in resource integration, undoubtedly carries the most weight in Binance's layout, and currently only includes two projects, Sahara AI and Arkham.
However, it is worth noting that since ARKM has already been listed on Binance, the actual number of unreleased/unlisted projects in Binance's direct investment in AI projects is only Sahara AI.
Who is the most "Alpha" project in Binance's bet?
As mentioned earlier, Binance's layout strategy in the AI & Web3 track mainly focuses on promoting the combination of AI and blockchain technology to drive the development of decentralized applications (DApps), favoring the use of blockchain technology to empower the underlying infrastructure of the AI ecosystem.
From this perspective, if TAO has already become the cornerstone of the AI field, then Sahara AI, as a platform project that encompasses the application layer and model algorithms listed by He Yi, is highly likely to be the new Alpha leader in Binance's eyes that can take over from TAO in the second half:
Currently, the AI narrative is essentially a game of giants, lacking a truly democratized AI infrastructure that allows small and medium-sized innovators and ordinary users to co-build and share. Sahara AI targets this differentiated direction—making the development, deployment, and monetization of AI assets (including AI models, datasets, agents, and other AI-related assets) more democratic through its pioneering concept of AI assets and proprietary infrastructure:
Both professional developers, entrepreneurs, and ordinary enthusiasts can easily build or deploy personalized AI products based on Sahara AI, and earn profits through contributions, development, and deployment of AI assets, co-building and sharing a more democratic and fair AI collaborative ecosystem.
Sahara AI consists of four layers: application, transaction, data, and execution, forming the foundation of Sahara AI's collaborative economy, providing a seamless experience for developers, data providers, and users, and is expected to catalyze a "Cambrian explosion" of AI use cases that meet personalized and self-innovative needs:
Application layer: Sahara AI provides tools such as asset security insurance, decentralized AI marketplace, no-code toolkits, and Sahara ID to ensure data privacy, promote fair compensation, and further simplify the process of creating and deploying AI for all users;
Transaction layer: Driven by the Sahara blockchain, it handles all transactions related to AI assets, ensuring that every operation is securely recorded, attributed, and verified. In addition, Sahara AI's native pre-compiled functionality is designed to optimize AI processing and can efficiently compute directly in a blockchain environment, improving system performance;
Data layer: It centrally manages on-chain data (key AI asset metadata, ownership, commitments, and proofs) and off-chain data (important datasets, AI models, and supplementary information), focusing on irreversible operations and records to ensure the system's credibility and transparency, and using encryption technology to ensure data integrity and security;
Execution layer: As the off-chain AI infrastructure of the Sahara AI platform, it seamlessly interacts with the transaction and data layers, executing and managing protocols related to AI computing and functionality, securely extracting data from the data layer, and dynamically allocating computing resources for optimal performance;
In summary, Sahara AI is expected to develop into an open AI platform infrastructure for all users, capable of attracting the largest user base, allowing professional developers, entrepreneurs, and ordinary enthusiasts to easily build or deploy personalized AI products.
Based on this, Sahara AI can activate the largest user base, funds, and market attention dividends in the AI track, bringing new vitality and possibilities to the entire AI track.
This may also be the reason why top investment institutions such as Binance, Pantera Capital, Polychain Capital, and industry giants such as Together AI, Midjourney, and Anthrophic are willing to support it—a platform that can truly realize co-building and sharing, and attract a large number of users and funds, undoubtedly has great appeal.
Conclusion
Looking back, Binance's layout in the AI track is comprehensive and in-depth, almost replicating He Yi's initial insights and judgments on the AI industry, and is indeed promoting Binance's development in this track based on the huge potential of AI in the future financial field and even the entire society:
From early project incubation, to mid-term strategic investments, and to late-stage listing, it covers the full life cycle of AI projects from incubation to investment and then to listing, constructing a complete AI ecosystem with a multi-level support strategy.
The narrative leader often sets the valuation ceiling for the entire track. In theory, if Binance and other top venture capital institutions want to ignite the entire AI track and project layout, they undoubtedly need a spark that can ignite market sentiment.
Although we do not know who the new leader will be or when it will arrive, it must have enough room for imagination and valuation ceiling. Therefore, with the support of top institutions such as Binance and a differentiated infrastructure positioning, Sahara AI has already shown the potential to take over from Bittensor (TAO).
Some early hidden potential will undoubtedly gradually emerge in the future, so let's wait and see.
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