The Integration of DePIN and AI: Unlocking a Trillion-Dollar Blue Ocean Market

In the global wave of technological advancement towards intelligence, a cutting-edge forum focusing on the integration of Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) was successfully held in Hong Kong on February 18. This event attracted over 800 registrations, with more than 250 industry leaders, technology developers, investors, and individuals interested in emerging technological trends attending to discuss the immense potential and future opportunities brought by the combination of DePIN and AI.

Explosive Growth of the AI Industry

In recent years, artificial intelligence technology has experienced explosive growth, attracting a large amount of venture capital. According to relevant analysis data, the investment in the AI sector has risen year by year from $1 billion in 2010, and is expected to reach $78 billion by 2024. Data shows that most investments are concentrated in Series A, indicating that capital favors AI startups and is willing to seek excess returns through long-term support. At the same time, significant investments from some tech giants have further propelled this trend.

Notably, the market for agent-based artificial intelligence in the AI sector is expected to grow significantly over the next decade, from $520 million in 2024 to $196.6 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of up to 43.8%. This assessment is based on the profound impact of AI on the labor market. As AI capabilities enhance, production costs are shifting from labor to software. When customer service demands increase relative to today, the cost per interaction will decrease, leading to greater cost savings.

The Huge Demand for DePIN Resources by AI

In this transformation, AI has a huge demand for DePIN resources in four areas: computing power, bandwidth, energy, and data. From the situation of several companies, some clues can be found: a company's quarterly revenue in the computing power sector has increased fivefold over the past three years, and the construction of data centers in North America in the bandwidth sector has also grown fivefold in the past three years; in the energy sector, only two companies require 16GW; in the data sector, large companies invest over $500 million annually to purchase wholesale data for training AI models.

Current Status and Growth Potential of the DePIN Market

Currently, DePIN has a small market share across various fields but is growing rapidly. Although the number of DePIN projects has increased from 100 in 2022 to 1,170 in 2024, and the market value has skyrocketed from $5 billion to $50 billion, with the active node rate rising from 2% to over 50%, DePIN's overall share only accounts for 0.1% of the trillion-dollar AI market. This sector has a growth potential of 100 to 1,000 times.

The Integration Framework of DePIN and AI

During the event, the DePIN+AI classic framework Quicksilver was also introduced. This is an open-source integration framework that combines large language models with DePIN, supporting the integration of different DePIN projects through adapters and plugins, and providing the necessary tools and interfaces for training AI Agents. Quicksilver offers modules such as authentication, blockchain wallets, and verifiable computation, allowing AI Agents to utilize the data and resources provided by Quicksilver to perform various tasks, such as data analysis, decision support, and automated operations.

Pain Points of AI and Solutions Offered by DePIN

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Future Outlook

With the continuous advancement of technology and the gradual improvement of the policy environment, DePIN + AI is expected to become an important force driving the development of the global smart economy. This integration not only provides AI with richer data sources and execution capabilities but also opens up new application scenarios and value creation opportunities for DePIN projects. In the future, we may see more innovative DePIN + AI solutions emerge, further promoting the development and transformation of the smart economy.