Digital Currency Group (DCG) has launched a new subsidiary named Yuma, focusing on artificial intelligence to support the development of the open-source Bittensor network. This move marks the integration of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, aiming to reduce the "top-down" development of machine learning through decentralized infrastructure. Yuma will provide funding and technical resources for both startups and established companies to build projects on Bittensor. Bittensor is a decentralized open-source network where users can run various AI models by contributing computational power and receive incentives through the TAO token. DCG founder Barry Silbert stated that Yuma will provide all the resources necessary for businesses to deploy innovative ideas. DCG has been investing in Bittensor since 2021 and has invested in several decentralized AI projects. Silbert will serve as the CEO of Yuma.

Digital Currency Group, sometimes referred to as the Standard Oil of blockchain, is launching a new artificial intelligence-focused subsidiary to support the development of the open-source Bittensor network.The move represents the convergence between the crypto and AI sectors, in the hope that decentralized infrastructure will lead to less “top down” development of machine learning.DCG is spinning up a new company called Yuma to provide startups and established businesses with capital and technical resources to build projects on Bittensor, a decentralized protocol that powers a blockchain-based machine learning network. A representative says the company already has at least 25 employees and is running the third-largest validator on the network.Bittensor is a decentralized, open-source network that enables users to contribute computational power to run various AI models. Users are incentivized to participate in the process via TAO token payouts. The network supports independent subnets that can direct computation power to particular subjects.“Just like the early days of Bitcoin, which fueled the development of a new form of transparent, borderless money, we’re moving from the digital ownership of assets to the decentralized ownership of intelligence,” DCG founder Barry Silbert said in a statement. “Yuma offers startups and enterprises access to everything they need – including capital, technical resources, and operational support – to deploy their innovative ideas onto the Bittensor network.”DCG first invested in Bittensor in 2021. The company has also invested in several decentralized AI plays, including Tensorplex, Natix and Flock.Silbert will serve as CEO of Yuma, named after the eponymous consensus algorithm used by Bittensor.“We think about potential the same way, where you have you have OpenAI, Meta, Google, who are creating a walled garden access to AI. Bittensor has kind of created this Cambrian explosion of subnets which, like the explosion of websites and applications, over the next 20 years, we'll see the next Ubers and the Airbnbs emerge because of this permissionless innovation," Silbert told The Block.

DCG has launched a new subsidiary, Yuma, focusing on decentralized AI investments.

DCG has launched a new subsidiary, Yuma, focusing on decentralized AI investments.