In-depth Analysis of AI Layer 1 Projects: Five Major Platforms Leading the New Wave of Blockchain and AI Integration

The rapid development of AI technology has led to the rise of Layer 1 Blockchain platforms optimized specifically for AI. These platforms exhibit diverse characteristics in terms of technical architecture, application scenarios, and business models, aiming to meet the high-performance computing and complex data processing needs of AI applications. This article provides an in-depth analysis of five leading AI Layer 1 projects: Bittensor, Vana, Kite AI, Nillion, and Sahara AI.

Bittensor: Decentralized AI Network Infrastructure

Bittensor is committed to building an open decentralized artificial intelligence collaboration network, breaking the centralized barriers in traditional AI research and development. Its technical architecture adopts a dual-layer design, including a root network responsible for overall coordination and subnet ecosystems focused on specific AI application scenarios.

Ecological Development Progress

• The number of subnets has expanded to over 64, covering various AI application scenarios.
• The active user base has reached 140,000, doubling year-on-year.
• The total valuation of the subnet market exceeds 100 million USD, with a daily trading volume of approximately 45 million USD.
• Institutional participation is increasing, Grayscale has included TAO in its decentralized AI fund.

Bittensor recently completed the dTAO system upgrade, which optimized the distribution mechanism of the TAO token and introduced a dynamic resource allocation system based on market mechanisms. This upgrade improved the efficiency and fairness of resource allocation through the subnet token (Alpha token) mechanism.

The currently most active subnets include:

• Subnet Targon No. 4: Focused on fast, low-cost text generation AI inference services
• Subnet 64 Chutes: Provides API interfaces for various LLMs
• Subnet No. 8 PTN: Focused on generating trading signals in the financial sector
• Subnet 52 Dojo: Focused on Data Annotation

Vana: Data Sovereignty and Value Reconstruction platform

Vana focuses on solving the issues of personal data ownership and value distribution, establishing an ecosystem where users truly own and control their own data. 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 Development Trends

• A certain laboratory announced a strategic investment in Vana, and a well-known figure has joined as an advisor.
• Ecological construction covers data projects in multiple fields.
• Recently organized a hackathon event, providing rewards 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, proposing four core technological innovations:

1. PoAI Consensus Mechanism
2. Composable AI subnet
3. AI native execution layer
4. Decentralized Data Engine

Development Status

• Launch of the incentive testnet in February 2025, outstanding performance
• The project has a strong background, with the core team coming from top tech companies and prestigious universities.
• Received support from multiple top-tier institutions.
• Establish technical partnerships with Avalanche and others

Nillion: Frontier Exploration of Privacy Computing

Nillion redefines the way sensitive data is processed through "blind computing" technology. Its technical architecture integrates various cutting-edge privacy protection technologies, including multi-party computation, fully homomorphic encryption, zero-knowledge proofs, and the Nada language.

Latest development progress

• The mainnet is scheduled to launch in March 2025.
• Completed a $25 million financing led by an institution.
• Establish integration relationships with multiple mainstream blockchains
• Establish cooperation with multiple AI-related projects

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

Sahara AI aims to build a "Human-AI Collaboration Network" with a technical architecture consisting of three key components: Sahara Blockchain, AI infrastructure, and Sahara AI Marketplace.

Latest Development Progress

• The testnet has gone through several important stages, attracting a large number of users to participate.
• The public test network "SIWA" is planned to be launched on March 10, 2025.
• Announce the roadmap for 2024-2025, including several key milestones.
• Launching an incubator program to support global AI x Web3 innovative projects.

AI Layer 1 is currently in a critical stage of rapid evolution, reconstructing the underlying architecture of AI technology through decentralized infrastructure. These platforms are breaking through the limitations of traditional centralized AI systems, building a more open, transparent, and efficient technological ecosystem, and promoting the development of artificial intelligence towards a more decentralized and collaborative direction.