A decentralised alternative to closed AI
Decentralised identity protocol IoTeX has launched the Real-World AI Foundry, a global initiative designed to build open, blockchain-powered artificial intelligence. The announcement was made during the R3al World AI Summit at the Singapore Token2049 conference in collaboration with founding Alignment Partners that include Vodafone, the Blockchain Association, Filecoin, Theta Network and Aethir.
The project aims to counter what IoTeX describes as “closed-source, costly, and controlled by a few” AI systems. Instead, the Foundry promotes an open framework where data from machines, people and sensors flows into shared models. Blockchain secures this data while cryptocurrency provides incentives for contributors.
Rewards for live data contributions
According to IoTeX, users can provide data, computing power or validation and receive rewards each time an AI agent or model accesses their verified data streams. The incentive structure is designed to encourage global participation while ensuring that data remains trustworthy.
The initiative begins with more than 40 million connected devices already integrated into IoTeX’s network. These devices can opt in as trusted data sources using ioID, a decentralised identity protocol that authenticates inputs without exposing personal information. Encryption and zero-knowledge proofs are used to protect privacy.
Real-World Models at the core
At the heart of the Foundry are Real-World Models (RWMs), intelligent systems trained on live inputs from machines, sensors and human activity. These models are built to understand cause and effect, adapt to new conditions and deliver real-time responses. IoTeX says RWMs have significant potential across mobility, energy, healthcare and robotics.
The spokesperson explained that the Foundry is not just a platform for compute distribution or agent hosting. Instead, it represents the first open ecosystem of RWMs governed collectively to ensure accountability, interoperability and alignment with human values.
Governance through collaboration
Data providers, infrastructure partners and model developers will be compensated according to the quality and use of their inputs. All transactions are tracked via onchain registries. Governance will initially be led by working groups formed by the Alignment Partners before expanding to token-based voting and other decentralised mechanisms to prevent any single entity from holding control.
Growing momentum for decentralised AI
The launch of the Real-World AI Foundry comes as interest in decentralised artificial intelligence continues to rise. In August, Swarm Network raised 13 million US dollars to develop a verification protocol that converts offchain data into verifiable onchain information. The protocol has already powered fact-checking for more than three million posts through Rollup News.
Earlier in April, Nous Research secured 50 million US dollars in a Series A funding round led by Paradigm. The startup is developing open-source AI models on the Solana blockchain to rival established centralised players such as OpenAI.
With the Foundry, IoTeX hopes to provide an alternative approach where openness, collaboration and decentralisation guide the future of artificial intelligence rather than exclusive control by a handful of corporations.
