At DePIN Day Denver 2025, Guy Wuollet (a16z) joined Tom Trowbridge (Fluence) for a fireside chat exploring DePIN’s real-world impact. The conversation covered investor criteria, infrastructure sectors like energy and compute, and the growing opportunity for DePIN protocols to replace centralized systems with crypto-incentivized networks.
Defining DePIN: Beyond the Buzzword
The conversation opened with differing views on the definition of DePIN. For Guy, the “P”—physical infrastructure—is essential. He sees DePIN as crypto networks applied to atoms, not just bits. It’s about using tokens and crypto incentives to coordinate distributed real-world infrastructure — power grids, wireless access, compute capacity — beyond the purely digital.
While there is debate over what qualifies, a working definition emerged: decentralized, crowdsourced infrastructure networks that deliver real-world services, verified without classical consensus, and incentivized through crypto economics.
What Investors Look for in DePIN Projects
From an investor lens, Guy shared that domain expertise is crucial. The best founders combine deep industry knowledge (in energy, telecom, transportation) with crypto-native protocol design capabilities. Successful DePIN startups often emerge from those who understand legacy systems—and can reimagine them through decentralized networks.
Protocol and token design are not just optional when building trustless systems, well-crafted crypto incentives are often necessary to ensure coordination and verification.
DePIN in Energy: The Rise of Decentralized Power Networks
Guy highlighted energy as a key vertical, with Daylight (an a16z portfolio company) as a prime example. Daylight aggregates real-time grid data from the edge (solar panels, batteries) and sells it to utilities, replacing outdated systems like meter-reading trucks.
The long-term vision: create a decentralized virtual power plant by coordinating energy generation, storage, and demand response — leveraging crypto incentives to balance the grid. This is what Guy jokingly rebrands as “dGen”: Decentralized Generative Energy Networks.
DePIN in Compute: Scaling Decentralized AI Infrastructure
In the AI space, Guy discussed Jensen, a decentralized compute project focused on training large models. Unlike GPU marketplaces, Jensen tackles verification — a key challenge when models are non-deterministic and consensus is inefficient.
Jensen’s approach is inspired by TrueBit, using optimistic verification and trace replay. As demand for compute explodes, such decentralized infrastructure could rival traditional cloud providers, making AI training more open, verifiable, and resilient.
Why Crypto Incentives Still Matter
The fireside chat emphasized that token design should serve a specific purpose — solving a coordination or incentive challenge. Projects adding tokens without need may be over-engineered. But when done right, tokens enable sustainable, decentralized infrastructure.
Guy noted that the best projects will feel like traditional apps to end users: no wallets or whitepapers required. The complexity stays under the hood, while users benefit from improved cost, access, and resilience.
The Bigger Vision: Crypto as a New Coordination Layer
The conversation closed with a powerful vision: crypto as a global coordination layer, but for sectors like healthcare, education, energy, and transportation.
DePIN applies the lessons of crypto to real-world systems, unlocking innovation in previously unshakable industries. As Guy noted, the future is when DePIN is so embedded in everyday life that we stop calling it that. It just becomes infrastructure.
