Written by: TechFlow
As the crypto market ushered in the historic moment of Bitcoin breaking through $89,000, the crypto AI sector also saw a general rise.
AI, as the biggest consensus between the East and the West in this cycle, has seen an unstoppable wave of development, from giant companies scrambling to lay out their strategy to two artificial intelligence (AI) pioneers winning the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Having smarter AI is equivalent to having more efficient production tools. However, behind the popularity, the current development of AI is also facing prominent problems such as the rampant copying of models, the monopoly of computing power giants, and high data costs. For this reason, more and more people are paying attention to the DeAI field. Grayscale, a well-known cryptocurrency trust fund company, pointed out in its latest report:
The intersection of encryption and AI technology will continue to have far-reaching impacts. Blockchain technology can become an effective tool for transferring economic value between humans, AI and IoT devices.
As for how to break the current dilemma of AI with the power of decentralization, a large number of explorers have emerged in the crypto industry:
In terms of AI models, Bittensor is committed to scheduling and screening different algorithms through blockchain networks and incentive mechanisms, thereby building a free competition and knowledge-sharing AI algorithm (model) market;
In terms of AI computing power, Render Network aims to build a decentralized rendering service ecosystem that supports transactions and resource sharing between content creators and GPU providers.
In terms of AI data, the recent business expansion initiative of Pundi X, a long-established payment project, launched a new brand, Pundi AI, and accelerated its entry into the DeAI track, which has sparked widespread discussion.
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It is reported that Pundi X launched Function X, a payment Layer 1 product built on Cosmos SDK in 2020, and then launched a Layer 2 solution based on Function X. In August this year, with the support of the community vote, Function X will be renamed Pundi AIFX, and Function X's native token FX, which has been listed on major mainstream exchanges, will also be officially renamed AIFX at a ratio of 100:1.
As a decentralized AI data project, Pundi AI covers multiple core products including Pundi AIData data platform, PURSE+ browser plug-in, Pundi AI data market, and Pundi AIFX full-chain layer. With the vision of promoting the democratization of AI development, it is committed to realizing the confirmation and return of data value in the entire process of data sharing, data processing, and data trading, thereby empowering AI development.
Payment and AI do not seem to be two tracks with a strong correlation. What are Pundi's considerations for its AI transformation? There are many competitors in the AI data track. What innovative gameplay will Pundi AI bring?
This article aims to explore the transformation and upgrading of Pundi AIFX, and explore the future development opportunities and challenges of Pundi AIFX and decentralized AI by understanding its specific operating logic, specific advantages of the project, and future roadmap planning.
Before really getting close to Pundi AI, it is more necessary to understand the team behind it, Pundi X. By understanding its achievements in the field of Web3 payments, you can more intuitively feel the potential of Pundi AIFX.
As a long-established crypto payment project established in 2017, Pundi X was based in Southeast Asia, a fertile land for cryptocurrencies, in its early stages of development. Taking advantage of Southeast Asia's dense population, positive policies, and backward financial infrastructure, Pundi X is committed to building a borderless payment ecosystem. Its main products include the hardware payment device XPOS, which enables merchants and consumers to conduct transactions on the blockchain supported by physical stores.
After several years of development, Pundi X's product functions have been continuously improved and its service scope has been continuously expanded: XPOS Web 3.0 cross-chain payment function supports multiple blockchain networks, including Bitcoin Lightning Network, BNB Chain, Ethereum, Polygon and Avalanche and other mainstream blockchains; in addition, Pundi X has also established partnerships with leading projects such as Binance Pay and TRON. Its XPOS devices have been deployed in more than 30 countries including Asia, America and Europe, and have been widely penetrated into multiple real-world consumption scenarios around the world, providing more efficient, seamless and convenient encrypted payment experience for tens of millions of users in Southeast Asia and even the world.
As the saying goes, success depends on human effort. Pundi X’s outstanding achievements in the field of encrypted payments are inseparable from the strategic vision and market scheduling control of the elite team behind it:
As the CEO of Pundi X, Zac Cheah studied at Singapore Management University, Royal University of Technology and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). After graduation, he worked at Opera, accumulating a solid theoretical foundation and valuable industry experience.
Peko Wan is the co-CEO of Pundi X. He holds an MBA from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Foreign Languages and Literature from National Sun Yat-sen University. He focuses on strategic project collaboration oversight, product development, and global deployment of Pundi X solutions.
Another core member of Pundi X, Danny, holds a doctorate in law from Tsinghua University and has ACMA and CGMA accounting qualifications. Danny has not only worked for large companies such as Baidu and Lenovo and held positions related to product design, but also has a deep understanding of the economic model design of Web3, providing a unique Web3 perspective for the Pundi X project.
Led by such a multi-industry elite team, Pundi X is widely favored by the market and professional institutions: it was selected as one of the top 50 innovative fintech startups in 2018 by KPMG and H2 Ventures, selected as an excellent supplier of blockchain business by Gartner, and selected as one of the top 10 fintech leaders by the Singapore Fintech Association in 2019.
After achieving outstanding achievements in the payment field, Pundi X continues to seek business expansion and transformation, committed to starting a second growth curve.
But why choose DeAI, which innovates data distribution, as a new direction?
This is not difficult to understand.
On the one hand, it is due to market considerations: looking at this cycle, AI is the biggest consensus between the East and the West in this bull market. The AI craze in the encryption field is one wave after another, from AI Meme to AI Agent. In the foreseeable future, AI is bound to develop rapidly as the main theme of encryption.
On the other hand, it stems from Pundi X’s observation of the stubborn problems in the development of the AI track:
We know that data is the fuel for the development of AI, but problems such as privacy leaks, monopoly by giants, and high costs have long existed in the field of AI data. A few large companies have mastered a large amount of high-quality data resources and formed a strong market barrier, which has brought about a serious imbalance in the value of centralized data.
For most AI projects, it is difficult for them to establish core competitiveness due to the scarcity of high-quality data and the high cost of obtaining it. For ordinary users, as data owners, not only do they not get privacy protection, but the value generated by their data is also plundered by giants, and they cannot get a reasonable return.
After years of hard work in the encryption field, Pundi X has realized the unique advantages of blockchain technology in solving AI data pain points:
By tokenizing data, data becomes a digital asset that can be circulated and traded, which not only gives the data a clear market value, but also lays a solid foundation for the further release of data value.
In addition, blockchain technology is based on its decentralized architecture, and the data on the chain is traceable and irreversible, which not only enhances the security and integrity of the data, but also whether it is data generation, processing, circulation or use, the blockchain can honestly record the contribution of each participant on the chain, and realize transparent distribution through smart contracts, further innovating the interest relationship between data owners, data processors and data demanders in the development of AI.
More importantly, by introducing a scientific and efficient economic incentive model, we can effectively encourage more users to participate in data sharing, processing and trading, and further promote the formation of a healthy and sustainable data economic system.
It is also worth mentioning that Pundi X’s exploration of the AI field is not starting from scratch. On the contrary, before officially announcing its entry into DeAI, Pundi X has already had many close collaborations with the AI track and completed the construction of the basic framework for AI development.
Through social media information, we can see that Pundi X is integrating all its AI products into the Pundi AI brand. Among them is the next-generation AI-driven DeXPOS (fully decentralized point of sale) that is being built to bring users a better AI Payment experience; Pundi AIData, which serves decentralized AI data annotation and aims to empower the ownership and use rights of AI Data; and Pundi AIFX, the blockchain underlying layer that serves AI chain verification and storage.
It is worth noting that Pundi AIFX, as a complex blockchain architecture and AI data base, is not a tree without roots. It is transformed from the experienced public chain veteran Function X. The opportunity for Function X to officially transform into an AI chain occurred in August 2024. The community governance proposal for Function X to transform into Pundi AIFX has received widespread support from the community to better support chain abstraction and AI-driven DApps development.
As an established project that has been deeply involved in the encrypted payment track for many years, Pundi X not only has a huge user base and rich ecological resources, but also has a deep technical foundation and rich practical experience in promoting the deep integration of Web2 + Web3. How will all these advantages be transformed into the development momentum of Pundi AIFX and realize the rapid development of DeAI empowered by data?
With data as the core support point, Pundi AI aims to provide one-stop services including data sharing, data tagging, full-chain data layer and data trading through four decentralized products, promote the de-monopolization, transparency and democratization of AI development, and through effective economic incentives, enable participants to obtain corresponding data benefits at any stage of data contribution and circulation.
At the data acquisition level, Pundi AI aims to aggregate Web2 + Web3 data to better empower the development of DeAI.
On the one hand, users can upload data through the Pundi AIData data platform, which supports uploading data in formats including text, pictures, videos, audio, etc. This gives users the power to decide which data to share and further protects user privacy. At the same time, users who upload data can also receive rewards, thereby attracting more people to participate more actively.
On the other hand, Pundi AI's other browser plug-in product PURSE+ supports users to contribute data and get rewards by completing tasks such as tagging content from Web2 social media such as X (Twitter).
Currently, both products have been launched and have a good reputation among users in the community. According to Pundi AIData statistics, there are currently more than 25,000 participants using PURSE+ to annotate and process AI data on the X (Twitter) platform. In the future, PURSE+ will also support more mainstream Web2 social media platforms to attract more users and aggregate more extensive data.
In addition, Pundi AI is also trying to connect to open-source artificial intelligence platforms including Hugging Face and start long-term cooperation to further enrich the data source of Pundi AIData. What is eye-catching is that after connecting the data of platforms such as Hugging Face, Pundi AI will generate exclusive dataset copyright NFTs for different dataset contributors and open them for claiming in the future.
In other words, after claiming the NFT, the known income, future income and dividends generated by the data set during the circulation, transaction and use can be obtained by the data contributor through NFT. This is not only a manifestation of respect for the labor results of data contributors, but also an important way to innovate data value redistribution and attract wider participation.
At the data processing level, Pundi AIData data platform provides comprehensive tools dedicated to bringing users a simpler, more efficient and easy-to-participate data labeling experience.
Even ordinary users can participate in data labeling through the Pundi AIData data platform, so that the data can further meet the needs of high-precision and small-scale pre-training in AI training; and for AI product teams that need data, they can also create data needs through the Pundi AI data platform to attract and call on more professional data contributors to participate.
In addition, the Pundi AIData data platform is also integrated with RLHF (Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback) in AI models, enabling data processors to provide high-quality targeted services to meet the needs of model fine-tuning and other requirements of original data providers.
Through this point-to-point data supply and demand matching, ordinary users have the opportunity to participate in AI-related work and gain benefits with a lower threshold, while data demanders can also obtain higher quality data at a lower cost.
At the data transaction level that can best unleash the value of data, Pundi AIData is committed to bringing more unique and innovative ways of playing.
The premise of data trading is the tokenization of digital value, which is also the necessary prerequisite for the realization of the core concept of "data assets and intellectual property rights" advocated by Pundi AIData. For this reason, in Pundi AI:
Labeled Data = Intellectual Property
As a data contributor, you can put your data into the Pundi Al data market. Buyers can efficiently retrieve and pay to download data by category. The contract will reward data contributors based on data quality and usage.
At a time when AI Token is popular, Pundi AI will creatively introduce Pump.fun -like gameplay to users’ data assets in the near future, allowing users to have a more intuitive experience of “data is an asset”:
Data contributors can choose to package the ownership, usage rights and future income rights of their data into tradable tokens and put them into the auction pool for auction/trading.
When a certain trading volume and market value are reached, the Pundi AI system will automatically generate an exclusive virtual character or image based on this data. Users do not need to conceive any design for the token and transfer the token of the data to the corresponding AMM Dex, supporting everyone's trading.
Throughout the entire process, data contributors (whether data owners or data labelers) can obtain data revenue. Like Hugging Face contributors, this revenue not only comes from the past, but also focuses on the future: as long as the data continues to circulate and sell, data contributors can continue to receive rewards.
The basis for all this to be realized is inseparable from Pundi AIFX’s underlying support as the full-chain decentralized AI data processing layer.
By lowering the threshold for users and developers through Pundi AIFX chain abstraction and combining it with effective economic model incentives, Pundi AI aims to attract data users around the world to participate without permission, which will further promote the decentralization of AI development.
In the Pundi AIFX decentralized system design, data is sent to the contract in the form of NFT for verification and recording, where the tagged content is encrypted by the uploader and the contract, and the source data files are also uploaded to the cloud or IPFS through these tools, further ensuring that all content can be easily indexed on the blockchain and the corresponding contract.
The data is cross-verified through multiple independent and complex verification nodes, and all data contributions and transactions are honestly recorded on the chain, which not only greatly improves the data quality, but also ensures the effective distribution of data benefits.
In addition, since Pundi AIFX is built using the Cosmos SDK application and has been further modified to include support for various EVM and Cosmos-compatible blockchains, this enables Pundi AIFX to support mainstream blockchains such as Ethereum, Base, BNB, Poly, and achieve a seamless cross-chain experience, further bringing a smooth experience to users.
From data uploading, data labeling to data trading, we have seen Pundi AI's sophisticated and rigorous design in realizing the DeAI vision by innovating data value distribution. In addition to the enthusiastic market performance of the Pundi AIData data platform and PURSE+ browser plug-in after the launch, and the strong support from the bottom of Pundi AIFX, the upcoming series of milestones and the multiple ecological cooperation/incentive initiatives that Pundi AI is promoting have further made the community feel "stable and secure" about Pundi X's DeAI expansion path.
Since the transformation of Function X into Pundi AIFX in August this year, Pundi AIFX has started intensive preparations for the transformation.
As the key to mobilizing enthusiasm for ecological participation, tokens are the most concerned issue in the community, especially for a community project like Pundi AIFX that has never received financing and has no plans to raise funds in the future.
We know that in this cycle, the performance of many VC projects was not satisfactory. The industrialization of Airdrop brought beautiful paper data, and the large amount of VC financing further increased the project valuation. However, the low circulation and weak price gap after the launch triggered a strong resistance from ordinary users to VC Tokens, and they turned their attention to projects that could "participate fairly and share dividends".
This is also the special feature of Pundi AI: since it has not raised any funds and does not intend to raise funds, there is no VC selling pressure, and FDV is the real circulating market value.
Pundi AIFX Ecological Token is derived from Function X's native token FX. Previously, Function X's native token FX has been launched on many mainstream exchange platforms such as Coinbase and Upbit. Currently, Pundi AIFX is promoting the seamless and automatic conversion of the original Function X token FX to the new Pundi AIFX token AIFX through a number of measures. The specific token exchange time is expected to be Q1 2025. It is worth noting that the replacement ratio is 100 FX = 1 AIFX.
At present, for most wallet users, the conversion can be completed with a simple one-click. At the same time, Pundi AIFX is improving its functions and cooperating with exchanges and other parties to support seamless replacement.
As Pundi AIFX utility token, AIFX token will have a variety of practical functions, including using tokens to purchase data, rewarding contributors in the ecosystem, etc., further enhancing the application scenarios and value of the token. The seamless conversion process will also be committed to ensuring an improved user upgrade experience.
In addition, relying on Pundi X's broad user base and rich cooperation resources, Pundi AI has established partnerships with many well-known AI projects in the few months since the announcement of the transformation.
In August this year, Pundi AIFX announced a partnership with Oraclus, an artificial intelligence on-chain data analysis platform, to provide users with in-depth data analysis tools and further strengthen Pundi AIFX's strategic blueprint for building a user-centric AI ecosystem.
In September, Pundi AI reached a cooperation with AI and metaverse company Futureverse. The two parties will build an AI data full-chain layer on Pundi AIFX, allowing Futureverse creators and consumers to generate AI data tokens for their works, and introduce Futureverse and The Root Network communities to Pundi AIFX's SocialFi platform Purse+ to further promote the development of decentralized finance, metaverse payment solutions and AI data innovation.
In October, Pundi AIFX announced a strategic partnership with Nubila Network to enhance the services Pundi AIFX provides to industries affected by climate change, such as agriculture, energy, and logistics, by integrating Nubila's rich environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data into the Pundi AIData data platform. As Pundi AI's product functions are improved, more ecological cooperation is also being promoted.
In addition to introducing high-quality projects to the ecosystem through cooperation, Pundi AI is also focused on promoting positive ecological incentives to discover and cultivate the next generation of groundbreaking AI projects and teams. The AI PitchFest, which is in full swing, is a strong proof of this.
This event is co-organized by Pundi AI, Woo Innovation Hub, and The Generative Beings. The expert judging team includes Dr. Gurren Wei of Academia Sinica, Dr. Yijie Wu of National Chengchi University, Shivang Gupta, founder of The Generative Beings, Alex, head of AI business at Woo Innovation Hub, Ian Chong, Circle Developer Ecosystem Lead, and Zac Cheah, founder of Pundi AI. The projects submitted for this event will be evaluated based on their innovation, market potential, scalability, and technical feasibility.
As soon as the event was launched, it received enthusiastic participation from many countries around the world. After multiple considerations and selections by the expert review team in terms of market, technology, team, project quality, etc., six teams stood out and entered the finals: ChemT Biotechnology, Cynthia Systems, OmniSkills Pte. Ltd., AI Square, KanjuTech and IsCoolLab Co., Ltd.
Next, the six teams will continue to compete through online performances and other means. The results of the competition will be announced after the final. The winner will receive up to US$100,000 in resource support and a six-month incubation program. During this period, the winner will enjoy professional mentor guidance, additional ecological exposure opportunities, industry resource introductions, and a full range of technical support to help the project grow rapidly.
While the ecosystem is advancing in an orderly manner, the technical product team will also achieve a number of breakthroughs in the coming months:
According to the roadmap released by Pundi AIFX, in the fourth quarter of 2024, the Pundi AIFX data layer will be connected to the EVM or Cosmos compatible chain, and will launch the Pundi AIData platform beta version, Pundi AI market Alpha version, data tagging tool beta version and introduce the "Tag-to-Earn" mode.
In the first quarter of 2025, the highly anticipated AI market and referral program will be launched. At the same time, the AI market's revenue pool and equity pool will also be officially launched, bringing users a more complete data asset revenue experience. In addition, the Pundi AIFX data layer will continue to work hard on ecological cooperation to connect to more L1/L2 networks.
In today's wave of digitalization, data is an eternal business.
After realizing the pain points of AI development in data, Pundi AI relies on its strong technical advantages, rich experience and industry resources to bring users and developers a lower threshold, lower cost and higher return AI participation experience, and promote the de-monopolization, transparency and democratization of AI development.
After converting data value into data assets, Pundi AI also provides innovative ideas on how to play with data assets: According to community discussions, everyone is generally looking forward to the upcoming Pump.fun- like gameplay of AI data asset tokens.
Admittedly, from the perspective of project development, brand expansion is not an easy task. It is necessary to choose the right track and face the challenge of innovating the market's perception of the project brand. As a decentralized project, it is necessary to fully communicate with the community. However, each cycle has its own market conditions and innovation narratives. While maintaining the growth of the original encrypted payment business, Pundi X has incorporated the DeAI business into the ecological map. This is not only an effective way to attract the community, maintain activity, and establish longer-term competitiveness, but also has gained widespread support from the community through voting governance.
It is worth noting that based on the sophisticated decentralized AI framework and on the basis of innovating the development pain points of the data sector, Pundi AI may continue to focus on the computing power sector in the future. We also saw the project's vision for the decentralized computing power market in its Gitbook. This signal of deep cultivation based on the AI market, as well as the orderly advancement of transformation and the implementation of various roadmaps, may drive Pundi AI to the next stage of vigorous development in this cycle.
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