- The objective of the initiative is to establish a connection between university research and scalable infrastructure for open artificial intelligence systems.
- Workshops, hackathons, student scholarships, and open-source projects will also be a part of the effort, which will last for four years.
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Zero Gravity (0G), a decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure company, have announced a partnership worth S$5 million to establish a joint research hub for the advancement of blockchain-based artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that will be more accessible and accountable.
Multiple initiatives that explore decentralized artificial intelligence training, blockchain-integrated model alignment, and proof-of-useful-work consensus mechanisms will get funding as a result of this milestone, which represents 0G’s first university partnership on a worldwide scale.
The objective of the initiative is to establish a connection between university research and scalable infrastructure for open artificial intelligence systems. These systems will be distinct from traditional AI systems, which are closed and controlled by private firms.
For example, rather than artificial intelligence systems operating on closed servers, where the processing and results are not visible, the use of blockchain technology will make it possible to record and verify each and every stage of the process, beginning with the training phase and ending with the output.
The Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of 0G, Michael Heinrich, and the Vice President of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at NTU, Professor Louis Phee, jointly unveiled this research center today.
“Open and trustworthy AI depends on a foundation that is decentralised and accountable,” said Prof Phee. “NTU has built world-class expertise in blockchain systems, cryptography and computing. By working with 0G, we aim to design a next-generation, innovative AI stack that enables global participation and transparency for everyone.”
A seed round of investment worth $40 million was headed by Hack Ventures and included participation from Delphi Ventures, OKX Ventures, Samsung Next, and Animoca Brands. 0G recently revealed that it has received over $325 million in committed funding.
“Our mission is to make AI a public good,” said Michael Heinrich, CEO and Co-founder of 0G. “By partnering with NTU, we are aligning with a global leader in blockchain and computing research to move beyond centralised AI monopolies. Together, we will build an open ecosystem where developers, institutions, and communities can contribute, verify, and audit.”
Professor Wen Yonggang, who is also the Dean of the Graduate College and Associate Provost of Graduate Education at NTU, and Dr. Ming Wu, who is the Co-founder of 0G and the Chief Technology Officer, will work together to ensure the success of the collaboration.
Their teams will work on developing decentralised computing architectures as well as secure marketplaces for artificial intelligence that will compensate participants for making data and computing resources available.
Workshops, hackathons, student scholarships, and open-source projects will also be a part of the effort, which will last for four years and will be designed to cultivate the next generation of decentralized artificial intelligence talent in Asia.
Within the first two years, it is anticipated that early proof-of-concepts will be developed, with pilot applications focusing on the fields of finance, healthcare, and smart infrastructure.
For the purpose of providing research leadership in scalable model training, artificial intelligence governance, and blockchain-enabled security frameworks, the College of Computing and Data Science at NTU, as well as its Centre in Computational Technologies for Finance (CCTF), will be responsible.
Through this agreement, Singapore will be positioned as a center for the development of open and trustworthy artificial intelligence, and it will also pave the way for future international collaboration in the field of decentralized intelligence.
The Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) is a public university that places a strong emphasis on research. It has 35,000 students enrolled in its undergraduate and postgraduate programs, including those in the fields of business, computing and data science, engineering, humanities, arts, and social sciences, medicine, science, and graduate colleges.
NTU is also home to a number of leading research centers, including the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute, and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N). NTU is also home to a number of world-renowned autonomous institutes, including the Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, and the National Institute of Education.
With the help of the NTU Smart Campus vision, the university is able to harness the power of digital technology and solutions that are enabled by technology in order to promote improved learning and living experiences, the discovery of new knowledge, and the sustainability of resources.
Although it is often ranked among the best colleges in the world, the main campus of the university is also frequently ranked among the most beautiful campuses in the world. NTU, which is well-known for its commitment to sustainability, has reached the level of Green Mark Platinum accreditation for each and every one of its qualified building projects. NTU has a medical campus located in Novena, which is Singapore’s healthcare district, in addition to its main campus.
In order to enable a fully democratized future of intelligence, 0G is the first decentralized artificial intelligence protocol (AIP) that has been purpose-built. As a Layer 1 that is both modular and indefinitely scalable, 0G makes it possible to execute decentralized artificial intelligence applications at a large scale. For the purpose of supporting the next generation of AI-native use cases, it unites high-performance decentralized storage, computing, and data availability (DA). We are establishing the groundwork for an open and unstoppable artificial intelligence economy with 0G’s verified artificial intelligence processing and permissionless agent ecosystem.