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- EMC recently announced that it is developing a layer 1 blockchain with a $20 million investment from venture capital.
- The demand for decentralized GPU projects is highlighted as a cost-effective alternative to solving the GPU shortage problem in AI development.
- EMC provides various AI-related services along with GPU rentals, and reports that additional income of up to 7.1% annually can be earned through DeFi services.
- The article was summarized using an artificial intelligence-based language model.
- Due to the nature of the technology, key content in the text may be excluded or different from the facts.
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Interest in artificial intelligence (AI) is increasing day by day, and there is a growing trend of cryptocurrency projects attempting to combine AI with blockchain.
The most representative type of AI-related cryptocurrency project is the decentralized graphics processing unit (GPU) project that leases GPUs. Decentralized GPUs are a type of decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN), which refers to projects that put unused computing power on the blockchain and rent it out to developers or startups in need of computing power.
EdgeMatrixChain (EMC) is also one of the DePIN projects that provide GPU rental services. However, it is evaluated as differentiated from other GPU rental DePINs in that it can provide DeFi and creative platforms using layer 1 blockchain. Previously, in August, EMC attracted a total investment of $20 million from venture capitalists such as P2 Ventures and Amber Group for the development of layer 1 blockchain.
Why is Decentralized GPU Needed?
Graphics Processing Unit. /Photo provided by EMC
Decentralized GPU projects have emerged as a solution to the GPU acquisition problem, which is the most important issue in the current AI industry.
Since the advent of Open AI's Chat GPT, everyone has jumped into AI development, causing a surge in GPU demand while supply remains severely lacking. As a result, high-performance GPUs used in AI development today are as expensive as a car. While big tech companies like Meta and Microsoft have no major issues purchasing expensive GPUs, startups and individual developers face difficulties in terms of cost.
The demand for GPUs can be seen in Nvidia's third-quarter report, which virtually monopolizes the GPU market. Nvidia reported that its revenue and net profit in the third quarter surged by 94% and 106%, respectively, compared to the same period last year, recording $33.16 billion and $19.39 billion. This far exceeded market expectations.
Decentralized GPU DePINs have become an alternative that can significantly reduce the cost of GPU computing resources, solving these problems. Binance highlighted in its first-half report this year that "as interest in AI grows, the cost of computing resources such as GPUs has increased," and "decentralized GPU DePINs have emerged as a cost-effective alternative."
There is also hidden demand for decentralized GPUs. These are Chinese AI developers sanctioned by the United States. According to the Wall Street Journal, Chinese AI developers have chosen decentralized GPUs as an alternative after being blocked by Amazon Web Services. The media cited EMC as an example, evaluating that decentralized GPUs, which feature anonymity through smart contracts, are becoming an attractive option for Chinese AI developers.
EMC, a One-Stop Platform for AI
Alex Go, founder of EMC, is explaining the Nvidia H100 cluster SuperPOD at Token 2049. /Photo provided by EMC
As explained earlier, EMC is a project that rents out the computing power of GPUs. To this end, EMC currently has secured 274 nodes on its blockchain and registered over 3,000 GPUs. The GPUs provided by EMC include Nvidia A100, GeForce RTX 4090, and GeForce RTX 3090.
In particular, the cluster 'SuperPOD,' which consists of 1,024 'Nvidia H100' GPUs, is considered EMC's strength. Previously, EMC participated in the 'Singapore Token 2049' conference and demonstrated a real-time demo of SuperPOD.
EMC not only rents out GPUs but also provides users with various AI-related services. For example, it offers a platform business that allows users to develop and content AI more easily. EMC's AI platform, EMC HUB, includes ▲ AI agent Jarvis Bot that can generate various content, ▲ creative trading application OmniMuse, and ▲ 3D content creation application ZoZo World.
Additionally, EMC is helping to build a network suitable for AI use. Specifically, technologies such as smart routing and data caching have been introduced to achieve low latency and high throughput in the network. EMC stated, "Our goal is to become a platform that encompasses almost everything in the AI field," and "developers will be able to smoothly test and launch their AI models on the EMC network."
Furthermore, EMC is also providing DeFi services using GPUs. Currently, anyone can purchase the computing power of Nvidia H100 GPUs in token form within EMC, and by staking it through EMC's DeFi, they can earn an additional income of about 2.7% to 7.1% annually depending on the period. Currently, about 2.6 million EMC tokens are staked in this DeFi service.
Photo captured from CoinMarketCap
According to CoinMarketCap, EMC tokens are trading at $0.079 as of 10 a.m. on the 6th, down 4.91% from the previous day. The circulating EMC tokens are about 30 million, accounting for 3% of the total supply (about 1 billion). The market capitalization is around $2.37 million.
Meanwhile, EMC is earning about $15 million in annual revenue. Although the business scale cannot be considered large yet, the outlook for decentralized GPU projects is generally positive. Data analysis firm Nansen, in a report published with MetaStreet, predicted that "considering the DeFi income, tokenomics, and GPU rental revenue of GPU rental services, the total revenue of these services could surge by at least 30% to a maximum of 200%."
