In-Depth Analysis of AI Layer 1 Projects: The Integration of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence

The rapid development of artificial intelligence technology has posed new challenges to traditional Blockchain architectures. To meet the demands of AI applications for high-performance computing and complex data processing, a number of Layer 1 Blockchain platforms specifically optimized for AI have emerged. These platforms exhibit diverse characteristics in terms of technical architecture, application scenarios, and business models.

This article will deeply analyze the five leading AI Layer 1 projects: Bittensor, Vana, Kite AI, Nillion, and Sahara AI.

Bittensor: Decentralized AI Network Infrastructure

Bittensor, as a pioneer in the Blockchain AI field, is dedicated to building an open decentralized artificial intelligence collaboration network. It aims to break down the centralized barriers in traditional AI research and development, allowing more participants to contribute and benefit together.

Bittensor adopts a dual-layer structural design:

• Root Network (Mainnet): Responsible for the coordination, verification, and issuance management of TAO tokens for the entire system.
• Subnet ecosystem: Developing specialized solutions for specific AI application scenarios.

This design allows Bittensor to balance overall network stability with expertise in various fields, providing a flexible infrastructure for the development of decentralized AI.

Ecological Development Progress

• The number of subnets has exceeded 64, covering various AI application scenarios such as text generation, trading signals, and data labeling.
• The number of active users has reached 140,000, doubling year-on-year.
• The total market valuation of subnet exceeds 100 million USD, with a daily trading volume of approximately 45 million USD.
• Institutional participation is increasing, such as Grayscale including TAO in its decentralized AI fund.

The recent dTAO system upgrade completed by Bittensor is an important innovation in its economic model. This upgrade optimizes the distribution mechanism of the TAO token, shifting from a reliance on validators' subjective judgments to a more market-oriented distribution method, allowing resources to flow more precisely to competitive subnetworks.

The most active subnets currently include:

• Subnet Targon 4: Focused on AI inference services for text generation
• Subnet 64 Chutes: Provides API interfaces for various LLMs
• Subnet 8 PTN: Focused on the financial sector, generating trading signals
• Subnet 52 Dojo: Focus on Data Annotation

Vana: Data Sovereignty and Value Reconstruction Platform

The Vana project focuses on solving the issues of personal data ownership and value distribution. It establishes an ecosystem where users truly own and control their data while being able to derive economic benefits from it.

As an EVM-compatible Layer 1 Blockchain network, Vana's technical architecture consists of five core components:

1. Data Liquidity Layer
2. Data Portability Layer
3. General Connection Group
4. Non-custodial data storage
5. Application Ecosystem

This design enables Vana to create a fairer data value distribution mechanism while protecting user data privacy.

Latest developments

• In February 2025, YZi Labs strategically invested in Vana, with Binance founder CZ joining as an advisor.
• Ecological construction covers data projects in multiple fields, such as Finquarium, GPT Data DAO, etc.
• Recently organized a hackathon during Eth Denver to encourage developers to build DataDAO and AI applications based on Vana data.

Kite AI: Technical Breakthrough of AI-Native Blockchain

Kite AI is an AI-native Layer 1 blockchain project built on the Avalanche framework. It proposes four core technological innovations:

1. PoAI Consensus Mechanism
2. Composable AI Subnet
3. AI Native Execution Layer
4. Decentralized Data Engine

These innovations have created a fairer and more transparent value distribution environment for AI developers and data providers.

Development Status

• The incentive testnet will be launched on February 6, 2025, with the number of connected wallets exceeding 100,000 within 70 hours of going live.
• The project is developed by an experienced Silicon Valley team, with core members from top tech companies.
• Has secured investments from top institutions such as General Catalyst, Hashed, and others.
• Establish technical cooperation with Eigenlayer, Sui, Avalanche, AWS, etc.
• As a member of the selection committee for Avalanche in the InfraBUILDL(AI) program, I promote the development of the Avalanche AI ecosystem.

Nillion: Frontier Exploration of Privacy Computing

Nillion redefines the way sensitive data is processed through "blind computing" technology. Its core advantage lies in allowing data to remain encrypted throughout the entire process of storage, transmission, and processing. The technology architecture integrates cutting-edge privacy protection technologies such as multi-party computation, fully homomorphic encryption, and zero-knowledge proofs.

Latest development process

• The mainnet is scheduled to launch in March 2025.
• Completed a $25 million financing in October 2024, bringing total financing to $45 million.
• Establish integrated relationships with multiple mainstream public chains such as NEAR Protocol, Aptos, and Arbitrum.
• Establish partnerships with multiple AI projects such as Ritual, Crush AI, etc.

Sahara AI: A Platform for Building a New Economy of AI Assets

Sahara AI aims to build a "Human-AI Collaboration Network" to allow various participants to share the growth dividends of the AI industry. The technical architecture includes three key components: Sahara Blockchain, AI infrastructure, and AI Marketplace.

Latest Development Progress

• The testnet has gone through multiple stages, with the first stage attracting over 780,000 user applications.
• The "SIWA" public testnet will be launched on March 10, 2025.
• The roadmap for the 2024-2025 fiscal year has been announced, including the launch of AI Marketplace and Sahara Studio.
• Launch of the incubator program on March 1, 2025, supporting AI x Web3 innovative projects

Summary

AI Layer 1 is currently in a stage of rapid evolution, reconstructing the underlying architecture of AI technology through decentralized infrastructure. These platforms break through the limitations of traditional centralized AI systems, building a more open, transparent, and efficient technological ecosystem. In the future, this sector will continue to drive technological innovation and promote the development of artificial intelligence towards a more decentralized and collaborative direction.