The Rise of AI Layer 1 Blockchain Platform: In-Depth Analysis of Five Major Projects

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, traditional Blockchain architecture has struggled to meet the demands of AI applications for high-performance computing and complex data processing. As a result, Layer 1 Blockchain platforms optimized for AI have emerged, showcasing diversified characteristics in terms of technical architecture, application scenarios, and business models. This article delves into 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 the centralized barriers in traditional AI research and development, allowing more participants to contribute and benefit together.

Bittensor adopts a dual-layer structure design:

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

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

Ecological Development Progress

• The number of subnets has expanded to over 64, covering a variety of AI application scenarios such as text generation, trading signals, and data annotation.
• The number of active users has reached 140,000, doubling compared to the previous year.
• The total valuation of the subnet market exceeds 100 million USD, with a daily trading volume maintained at around 45 million USD.
• Institutional participation has significantly increased, Grayscale has included TAO in its decentralized AI fund.

The recent dTAO system upgrade completed by Bittensor is an important innovation in its economic model. This upgrade introduces a dynamic resource allocation system based on market mechanisms, achieving more efficient and fair resource allocation through the subnet token ( and the Alpha token ).

The currently most active subnets include:

• Subnet 4 Targon: Focused on AI inference services for text generation
• Subnet 64 Chutes: Provides various LLM API interfaces
• Subnet 8 PTN: Focused on generating trading signals in the financial sector
• Subnet No. 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 own 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 Portable Layer
3. General Connection Group
4. Non-custodial data storage
5. Application Ecosystem

Latest developments

• In February 2025, YZi Labs announced a strategic investment in Vana, with Binance founder CZ joining as an advisor.
• Multiple data projects have been built in various fields, including Finquarium, GPT Data DAO, Reddit Data DAO, etc.
• Recently organized a hackathon during Eth Denver, offering a high prize pool to incentivize 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 aims to address the challenges traditional blockchains face when handling AI assets, particularly how to achieve transparency in rights and incentives for AI data, models, and agent contributions.

Kite AI has proposed four core technological innovations:

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

Development Status

• The incentive testnet will be launched on February 6, 2025. Less than 70 hours after going live, the number of connected wallets surpassed 100,000.
• As of now, a total of 1.95 million wallets have joined the incentive test net V1, of which over 1 million wallets have interacted with AI agents, with a total of more than 115 million calls.
• The project background is strong, and the core team comes from top technology companies and academic institutions.
• Has secured investments from top institutions such as General Catalyst and Hashed, and established technical partnerships with Eigenlayer, Sui, Avalanche, AWS, and others.

Nillion: A Frontier Exploration of Privacy Computing

Nillion redefines the handling of sensitive data through its unique "blind computing" technology. It is a decentralized public network based on the Nil Message Compute (NMC) cryptographic primitive, allowing network nodes to operate in a non-traditional Blockchain manner.

Nillion's technical architecture integrates various cutting-edge privacy protection technologies:

• Multi-Party Computation (MPC )
• Fully Homomorphic Encryption ( FHE )
• Zero-Knowledge Proof ( ZKP )
• Nada Language

Latest development progress

• The mainnet is scheduled to launch in March 2025.
• Completion of a $25 million financing led by Hack VC in October 2024
• Established integration relationships with multiple mainstream public chains such as NEAR Protocol, Aptos, and Arbitrum.
• Establish partnerships with projects such as Ritual, Crush AI, Skillful AI, and Virtuals Protocol in the AI ecosystem.

Sahara AI: The platform for building a new economy of AI assets

Sahara AI aims to build a "Human-AI Collaboration Network" that allows ordinary users, developers, and enterprises to participate in the creation, deployment, and monetization of AI assets.

The technical architecture consists of three key components:

1. Sahara Blockchain
2. AI Infrastructure
3. Sahara AI Marketplace

Latest development progress

• The Beta version testnet of the first phase data service platform will be launched in December 2024.
• The second phase of the testnet will start in February 2025.
• The public testnet named "SIWA" will be launched on March 10, 2025.
• The roadmap for the 2024-2025 fiscal year has been announced, including several key milestones.
• The incubator program will be launched on March 1, 2025, supporting AI x Web3 innovative projects.

AI Layer 1 is currently in a critical stage of rapid evolution, with these platforms breaking 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, advancing artificial intelligence towards a more decentralized and collaborative direction.