Aethir deep dive: decentralized GPU cloud for AI and gaming
Quote1,394 words
Walks through Aethir's architecture (containers, checkers, indexers), ATH staking security and compute reward model, arguing decentralized GPU supply can counter big tech's concentration of compute. Cites AI adding over $15T to the economy by 2030.
Key claims
AI projected to add >$15 trillion to the global economy by 2030
Enterprise cloud infra spend over $76B in Q1 2024
Rewards split into Proof of Rendering Work and Proof of Capacity with decay
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will mark a new era of human evolution.
It's projected that AI will contribute >$15 trillion to the global economy by 2030.
How? 60% of the jobs that exist today, will be transformed/replaced by AGI-driven automation.
Strategy to play this trillion $$$ narrative. 🤖 ✨
➊ The GPU Wars
The race to AGI has ignited an insatiable thirst for compute power.
Big tech companies, governments & resource-rich entities are spending tens of billions to secure enough GPU chips to stay ahead.
Whoever is first in bringing AGI to production probably hits the biggest jackpot of human history.
Those without such resources are left relying on expensive cloud compute providers, exacerbating an already unequal playing field.
This scramble for compute power is creating an alarming disparity as the AI wealth gap between the GPU Rich and GPU Poor is widening.
A select few firms, including @OpenAI, @Google, @AnthropicAI, @inflectionAI, @X, and @Meta, possess tens of thousands of A/H100 GPUs*, with some firms and multiple Chinese companies projected to exceed 100,000 GPUs by next year.
* ) What are H100 GPUs? Learn more about it in my post here: t.co/eSknpNOLrl
These entities enjoy the highest compute resources-to-researcher ratios, enabling rapid advancements towards AGI.
Conversely, startups and open-source researchers struggle with far fewer GPUs, often wasting significant time fine-tuning models on hardware with insufficient VRAM.
This unfair distribution threatens to stifle innovation and concentrate power in the hands of a few.
To counter this, we must increase the accessibility of on-demand compute.
Decentralized networks (more specifically @AethirCloud) can be the solution here.
AI companies need the means to claw control away from big tech, ensuring that AI development benefits all of humanity.
Leveraging the power of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), we can create a distributed network of affordable compute resources accessible to everyone.
This is the only way to democratize AI and unlock its full potential for the good of society in an equitable manner.
➋ WTF is Aethir?
@AethirCloud is exactly that. DePIN.
Distributed cloud compute infrastructure.
It aggregates enterprise-grade GPUs into a single global network and increases the global supply of on-demand cloud compute resources for the AI, gaming & virtualized compute sectors.
What this means is that:
☞ Enterprise GPU owners can monetize their idle GPU chips by becoming their own cloud compute providers.
☞ End users can access to affordable, on-demand compute resources for AI training & inference workloads, real-time rendering apps or other virtualized compute operations.
On the supply side, the process for resource owners is straightforward.
They register their compute resources with the network, have the specifications evaluated and confirmed, and then stake $ATH to be eligible to service requests.
On the demand side, end users submit requests to the network which are matched with the most appropriate, high-performance resources.
For gaming use cases, the end users are the gamers themselves and are matched to a high-performance resource that contains their requested gaming experience.
➌ TLDR on the Tech
@AethirCloud stack comprises five core components:
☞ Resource owners: The GPU chip owners who provide the actual compute resources to the network for use in Containers.
☞ Aethir Network: Includes Containers, Checkers, and Indexers that house compute resources, ensure quality, and facilitate matching based on user requirements.
☞ Compute Buyers and Gamers: Consumes compute resources from the Aethir network on demand.
☞ Treasury: Manages protocol fees and $ATH meant for sustainable protocol and ecosystem growth.
☞ Settlement Layer: Using a blockchain as its settlement layer to record transactions, support scalability and efficiency coupled with onchain $ATH incentives.
Fundamental to the @AethirCloud network, the Container is the virtual endpoint where the cloud's actual use occurs, such as rendering a game for the player.
It ensures an immediate, responsive "zero lag" experience by shifting the workload from the local device to the Container.
Containers should be pre-installed and configured for immediate activation, ensuring quick access and startup. They must meet specific processing and graphical requirements, provide sufficient bandwidth, and support low-latency interactions. Containers are selected based on performance, service quality, and cost-efficiency.
They are rewarded for maintaining readiness and providing services, with performance regularly validated to ensure network standards.
Containers transition through various states, including setup, validation, maintenance, and quality control. The network features a dashboard displaying container status and a billing system that adjusts fees based on performance, simplifying user interactions with the platform.
Okay cool, but how is this things secured?
Good question anon.
It's a crypto-economic security mechanism powered by $ATH staking that incentivizes honest behaviour.
Node operators are required to stake $ATH and penalized for any deviations from the network's strict quality standards.
The Checker nodes (which were sold in a node sale a few months ago) ensure Container integrity and performance through registration, standby checks, and service assessments. They manage scheduling and are in charge of quality control.
Finally, the Indexer is the entitiy that matches consumers with suitable Containers for swift app & service delivery.
The indexer prioritizes low service fees, optimal experience, and decentralization to prevent fraud.
The network operates in wholesale and dynamic service modes, with session costs varying based on demand.
❹ The ATH Token
The ATH token is the native token if the @AethirCloud network, is live on Ethereum & @arbitrum and serves multiple roles within the ecosystem.
Primarily, $ATH is the standard medium of exchange, allowing demand-side participants to compensate node operators for computing power across use cases like AI apps, cloud compute, and virtualized compute.
As the ecosystem expands, so will $ATH's utility with use in merge mining and integrated marketplaces on the horizon.
$ATH is also essential in governance as @AethirCloud transitions to a DAO.
DAO Governance will allow token holders to propose, discuss & vote on platform changes, upholding @AethirCloud's decentralized ethos.
Additionally (and as mentioned before), new node operators must stake $ATH tokens, aligning their economic interests with the platform's objectives and serving as collateral against potential misconduct.
@AethirCloud's strategic allocation of a significant portion of its total token supply to reward compute providers is designed to strengthen the ecosystem, recognizing the value provided by its contributors.
This allocation supports node operators and aims to sustainably attract & retain these resource providers.
By maintaining container standards and ensuring efficient resource provision, @AethirCloud secures its future viability and sustainable network growth.
Compute rewards are divided into two categories:
☞ Proof of Rendering Work: Rewards node operators for completing tasks.
☞ Proof of Capacity: Incentivizes readiness even without active work.
This model balances the onboarding of resource providers, maintains high standards, and ensures long-term reward sustainability through a decay function (rewards reducing over time).
❺ Conclusion
@AethirCloud could become core infrastructure for an AI industry in hyper-growth.
Based on previous analysis I have done, this is a multi-trillion $$$ market and hence an opportunity that spans far beyond our crypto bubble.**
**) Learn more in my market analysis here: t.co/PWodLyavlX
There is real demand from AI and gaming sectors in the real world, and these companies are paying billions to cloud compute providers that control the majority of enterprise-grade GPUs.
Due to the limited supply and with these oligopolists exercising significant control over pricing, gaining access to GPUs is difficult and expensive for small startups.
@AethirCloud fixes this, providing compute resources gathered in a decentralized network to startups and gamers at affordable prices, democratizing access to high-performance compute & GPUs.
Could be huge anon.
🧠 DYOR.
1/ If you want to dive deeper in the space of decentralized GPU networks, also make sure to check my post below.
As a leading GPU-as-a-Service provider, @AethirCloud will provide 1'000 H100 GPUs to @ionet's aggregation layer.
x.com/zerokn0wledge_/status/1813910528076488977
2/ With @Compute_Labs, these GPUs on @ionet (incl. the ones provided by @AethirCloud, can be tokenized, which bolsters decentralization of the supplier base and democratizes ownership of GPU resources.
With the yield potential of these highly sought-after pieces of hardware, these RWAs are highly attractive to many investors looking for exposure to AI beyond $NVDA stocks or crypto-assets.
x.com/zerokn0wledge_/status/1817129267605479757
QUOTING @zerokn0wledge_
The AI industry is valued in the $100s of Billions. The Gaming industry is valued in the $100s of Billions. 🤖 What do they have in common? Both require cloud infrastructure & computing power. An emerging trillion $$$ market. Already in Q1 2024, enterprise spending on cl
The AI industry is valued in the $100s of Billions. The Gaming industry is valued in the $100s of Billions. 🤖 What do they have in common? Both require cloud infrastructure & computing power. An emerging trillion $$$ market. Already in Q1 2024, enterprise spending on cl
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What came next · since 30 Jul 2024
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This breakdown analyzes the project without making a call on the token, so price moves since publication are shown as market context.
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Since then
Zero has written 6 more pieces on Aethir and $ATH since this one.
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Daily closes in USD from DefiLlama and Yahoo Finance. Only a bullish or bearish call in a thesis or market take is tracked; explainers, lists, maps and mentions are neutral context. Not financial advice.