"The blockchain of the past was more like a machine that could do accounting, good at handling financial transactions, but not so great with data. The AI era is here, and everyone is talking about models, computing power, and agents. But all these intelligent entities rely on one key thing: data that can be securely accessed, verified, and utilized. This is exactly what Irys (@irys_xyz), formerly Bundlr Network, aims to achieve. 1️⃣ From Bundlr to Irys: From helping others store data to becoming its own chain In its early days, Bundlr was an accelerator within the Arweave ecosystem, and almost all data destined for Arweave had to pass through it. But the team later discovered a problem: storage is static, while AI and applications are dynamic. The traditional "store it and forget it" model simply cannot support future AI interactions, real-time data streams, and on-chain execution logic. So, they decided to completely rebuild and transform Bundlr into a new chain called Irys—a programmable data chain designed for AI. 2️⃣ What is Irys doing? It’s turning data from passive stored files into "active assets" that can "execute logic, collect authorization fees, and distribute revenue." It divides the blockchain into two ledger layers: - Submit Ledger: Responsible for fast transaction verification. - Publish Ledger: Responsible for long-term data storage. This design achieves high throughput (testnet TPS exceeds 100,000) while ensuring permanent storage. Plus, with compression mechanisms and a multi-node architecture, storage costs are only 1/20th of Arweave’s. 3️⃣ Why is it important? In the past, blockchain data was essentially dead on-chain—it could be queried and verified but couldn’t be directly used by programs. Irys aims to make data directly accessible and operable by smart contracts, AI, or other chains. For example: An AI model’s training data can be stored on-chain; usage frequency can be automatically settled; revenue can be automatically distributed to contributors. This sounds like an on-chain version of AWS, but it’s even more open because logic, permissions, and incentives are all executed on-chain. 4️⃣ Team background Founder Josh Benaron is a familiar face in the Arweave ecosystem and a key driver behind Bundlr. Co-founders Eduardo Bravo and Beto Altamirano come from Cityflag and specialize in AI data infrastructure. The team is composed of distributed systems experts and former DePIN engineers, with backing from investors like Framework Ventures and Primitive Ventures. It’s safe to say this is one of the few teams that truly understands data, AI, and blockchain. 5️⃣ Current progress By 2025, Irys has already launched its testnet and introduced a task system called Irys Arcade, where users can upload data and participate in interactive tasks to earn EXP. In the future, the mainnet token may be tied to these test points. Meanwhile, they’re collaborating with multiple AI, DePIN, and blockchain gaming teams—for example, enabling NFTs to call external data in real-time to generate new versions or allowing IoT sensor data to settle on-chain in real-time. The community predicts the mainnet will launch in November, and the official Twitter account has been dropping frequent hints about its imminent arrival. The mainnet launch will likely coincide with a TGE (token generation event). If you’re bullish on this project, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on. #Irys #Blockchain #AI #Crypto #DePIN #NFT #Web3 #Arweave #AWS