This panel was recorded at DePIN Day Berlin — part of the global conference series dedicated to Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks.
Hosted by Fluence, DePIN Day brings together founders, developers, investors and ecosystem leaders to explore how crypto-incentivized infrastructure is transforming the real world.
Watch to discover the latest innovations, real-world use cases, and emerging trends shaping the future of decentralized infrastructure.
AI and DePIN are on a collision course that could reshape the future of digital infrastructure. At DePIN Day Berlin 2024, a powerhouse panel featuring leaders from io.net, Livepeer, Prime Intellect, cyber Fund, and web3mine dove deep into how decentralized infrastructure is unlocking real utility for AI workloads — from compute aggregation to fair governance. Here’s what they revealed.
The Real Value of DePIN in AI
Panelists agreed: the AI space faces a massive bottleneck in compute. But decentralized infrastructure can help.
- Aline Almeida (io.net) emphasized how the network connects underutilized GPUs from data centers, miners, and consumers to support AI inference and training workloads on-demand.
- Vincent Weisser (Prime Intellect) added that compute is becoming one of the largest economic resources globally, and DePIN can help financialize, orchestrate, and tokenize this resource across decentralized and centralized providers.
- Shannon Wells (Livepeer) showed how existing video transcoding infrastructure can be repurposed for AI inference, supporting tasks like text-to-image, video upscaling, and scene classification with a pay-per-task model — offering a 10x cost advantage over Web2 clouds.
Infrastructure Use Cases: Training, Inference & Data Pipelines
The panelists explored three main layers where DePIN supports AI:
- Inference at Scale: Livepeer and io.net both highlighted inference as a more achievable short-term goal than distributed training due to lower latency requirements.
- Distributed Training: While harder, panelists from Prime Intellect and io.net discussed progress using low-synchronization protocols (e.g., gossip) and research from DeepMind.
- Data Marketplaces: Decentralized models create demand for transparency and fairness in data sourcing. Lawsuits around training data use make this a priority.
The Role of Crypto: Incentives, Governance & Coordination
Decentralization is about how AI is developed, funded, and governed.
- Stepan Gershuni (cyber Fund) outlined three pillars DePIN can bring to AI: cryptographic verification, token-based incentives, and programmable governance.
- Panelists discussed the risk of centralized AI (e.g. OpenAI, Meta) and argued that DePIN allows us to reimagine control through user-driven networks, preference-based agents, and AI-native DAOs.
Product-Market Fit: The Demand-Side Challenge
The biggest barrier for DePIN x AI is ensuring demand-side usability.
- Vincent explained how Prime Intellect abstracts crypto completely, allowing users to pay with Stripe or fiat and use the cheapest compute without needing wallets.
- Shannon emphasized Livepeer’s narrow focus on solving specific video AI use cases rather than trying to serve every AI application.
- The takeaway: simplicity and specificity win.
Governance as the Final Boss
The panel closed on the hardest but most vital promise of decentralized AI: collective control.
- Governance isn’t solved, but the ability to experiment rapidly through on-chain DAOs, AI agents, and prediction markets opens new paths.
- Stepan suggested we treat blockchain governance as a lab to prototype future coordination systems—before centralized AGI decisions are locked in by megacorps.
AI x DePIN Is Here to Stay
From infrastructure to ideology, the convergence of DePIN and AI is already being deployed. Whether it’s leveraging idle GPUs, offering usage-based compute, or building open governance systems, the panelists proved that decentralized networks have real utility in shaping the future of AI.
The real promises of DePIN and AI? Cost reduction, fair access, and human-centric control over the tools shaping our digital world.
