Looking for the next gold mine! Tether invests 2 billion in AI and alternative finance, challenging tech giants

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed the latest Local AI development kit from Tether at the Lugano Plan ₿ event in Switzerland on October 26. This new AI development kit focuses on user privacy and is supported by peer-to-peer technology.

The outstanding feature of Local AI is its versatility, allowing developers to run written code on various devices, from low-cost mobile phones to high-end smartphones, notebooks, or large systems equipped with H100 processors. In addition, this technology can be applied to a variety of devices, including smart refrigerators and car entertainment systems.

In March this year, Tether announced the establishment of a new artificial intelligence department, 'Tether data', dedicated to promoting its foray into the AI industry, with the goal of building the next generation of open-source AI models. Led by Paolo Ardoino, the newly established AI department, Tether data, focuses on the development of 'Open Source, multimodal AI models'. This major initiative is aimed at improving the accessibility and efficiency of AI, and driving the integration of AI and peer-to-peer technology.

Launch Local AI is committed to breaking through the traditional application scope of computing devices

At the recent Swiss Lugano Plan ₿ event, Ardoino demonstrated how Local AI surpasses the application scope of traditional computing devices. The software development kit (SDK) can ultimately be implemented in smart home appliances, including refrigerators and car entertainment systems, highlighting its wide potential applications.

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Local AI specifically emphasizes "Local" computing, which means that AI computing is done on the user's own device, and adopts P2P (peer-to-peer) technology, allowing devices to exchange data directly.

The traditional network architecture is that every image, website, or application has a server for storage. Each server has its own IP address. When we browse the web, we send requests to the server through the IP address, and the server essentially controls ownership of the users.

P2P is when every user on the network is responsible for storing all or part of the data. In addition to being able to request other IP addresses, it also needs to handle requests from others, effectively making itself a server. This is also Tether's goal in promoting AI and peer-to-peer technology.

A key feature of Local AI is its ability to load and store model weights and fine-tuning data within a P2P architecture. This approach ensures that users' personal sensitive information is secure and reduces reliance on central servers. During the Plan ₿ event, Ardoino demonstrated a completely local and privacy-focused translation application that can run on any device, avoiding sharing personal data with third parties, and is also compatible with various models (such as Marian and Llama). In addition, the foundation of Local AI is based on the Open Source project 'holepunchto/bare', which plays a crucial role in its structure.

Assuming the user is using a translation application developed based on the Local AI SDK, the application can directly obtain updated language models from other users. The user's personal device can share optimized translation results with other devices directly, and all this information exchange is encrypted and does not require a central server.

Finally, Tether plans to make the Local AI SDK available as Open Source software after completing comprehensive testing. This will benefit developers and communities interested in AI and privacy-related technologies, and also symbolizes Tether's continued expansion of its AI technology products, not just limited to stablecoin services.

Last year, I accumulated capital by buying chips to expand the AI business by establishing a department this year.

In 2023, Tether's annual net profit reached $6.2 billion. In addition, in September of last year, Tether made a substantial investment in AI hardware, spending $420 million to purchase 10,000 Nvidia H100 GPU chips, with each H100 chip valued at about $40,000, accounting for approximately 2% of Nvidia's total annual shipment of 550,000 H100 GPU chips.

And at the time, the transaction was part of Tether's collaboration with the Bitcoin mining company Northern Data Group, where Northern Data could obtain a large amount of H100, and Tether could obtain 20% of Northern Data's shares. Forbes also mentioned that Northern plans to rent out these graphics cards to AI startups in urgent need of large-scale Computing Power, which could make Northern Data the largest GPU operator in Europe apart from Amazon, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle.

In March of this year, Tether announced the establishment of the Tether data department, which focuses on several key industries in expanding its AI business. First, it is developing open-source multimodal AI models to establish new industry standards and promote innovation and accessibility of AI technology. In an interview with WIRED, Ardoino mentioned that the concept of decentralization can be applied to different industries, such as AI. We have already seen AI being heavily politicized. Having a role independent of traditional tech companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google is also believed to be very important.

Secondly, Tether data seamlessly integrates AI solutions into products in the market, using technology to address real-world challenges. Finally, by actively participating in a broader ecosystem through community contributions, Tether data is committed to advancing the open AI industry and showcasing its innovative projects.

With abundant cash, Tether targets Amazon, Microsoft, and Google

In June of this year, Tether released a report stating that Tether's profit in the first half of 2024 was $5.2 billion, with a total reserve of $118.5 billion. After serving as CTO for six years, Ardoino took over as CEO in December last year. Under his leadership, Tether has made significant investments in energy development, BTC mining, and communication technology in order to achieve investment diversification.

Ardoino said that some of the funds are used to build a buffer for USDT reserves, but the remaining funds are invested in the company's new venture department Tether Evo. The company has acquired a majority stake in the neurotechnology startup Blackrock Neurotech, "The technology of brain-computer interface (BCI) will become very important in the future, building a brain and computer interface that respects individual privacy, ensuring that data remains local, and not being collected by a single company's operating platform is also very important," Ardoino said in an interview.

In addition, Ardoino also stated in an interview that AI is another important industry for Tether's business expansion. Tether's VC evaluates as many as hundreds of proposals every month, most of which come directly from startups, and has invested about $2 billion in the AI and alternative financial infrastructure industry. For Tether, investing in AI not only means technological innovation, but also means ensuring that the company is always at the forefront of technology.

[Disclaimer] The market is risky, and investment needs to be cautious. This article does not constitute investment advice. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are applicable to their specific situation. Invest at your own risk.

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Original author: Chloe, PANews