DCG today announced the launch of Yuma, a new company to support and drive development on Bittensor, a decentralized, open network where anyone can create, train, and access AI. Led by DCG Founder and CEO Barry Silbert, Yuma provides startups and enterprises with the capital, infrastructure, and technical resources needed to explore and build on Bittensor. As part of DCG’s major bet on the convergence of crypto and AI, the decentralized AI category provides massive growth opportunities alongside the broader AI sector.
Yuma is executing on an opportunity to broaden access to AI, and influence the next frontier of decentralized intelligence. Since its initial investment in Bittensor in 2021, DCG has championed decentralized intelligence, seeing it as both an economic catalyst and a path toward a more equitable digital ecosystem. With its new subsidiary, and Barry Silbert serving as Yuma’s CEO, Yuma is poised to bring DCG’s proven playbook in advancing digital assets to the decentralized AI landscape. Silbert will continue to lead DCG as CEO.
“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,” said Silbert. “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. By supporting world-changing projects that advance decentralized intelligence, Yuma will shift the transformative power of AI and machine learning away from centralized companies to an open and accessible resource for all people.”
Bittensor can be viewed as the “World Wide Web” of intelligence—a platform where a global community can contribute, connect, and innovate freely. Yuma draws its name from Bittensor’s core technological innovation, the Yuma Consensus (YC) mechanism, which makes it possible to measure and reward these contributions to the network fairly and accurately with its native token $TAO. In the Bittensor ecosystem, projects built on the network are called subnets. Each subnet is a focused marketplace for specific AI/ML services like text generation, translation, and data storage. Miners on Bittensor contribute computational power to these subnets, while validators assess contributions for quality and allocate rewards. Yuma participates across the Bittensor network in every role, building and launching subnets, serving as the third largest validator, and currently mining across four subnets.
“We created Bittensor to offer a competitive alternative to the top-down world that limits access to high-powered AI capabilities,” said Bittensor co-founder Jacob Steeves. “We’re championing open access to technology liberated from conventional gatekeepers so that we can ensure the AI revolution is accessible to the next generation of visionaries shaping our world. I am excited to see what Yuma brings to the community and am proud to work alongside DCG in ensuring the important commodity of intelligence is owned by everyone.”
Startups and enterprises in Yuma’s subnet portfolio will receive bespoke support to pursue success within the Bittensor ecosystem, including:
- Subnet Accelerator: A comprehensive program designed to transform ideas into operational projects on the Bittensor network.
- Subnet Incubation: Tailored support from Yuma’s technical and strategic experts to create custom subnet solutions.
- Yuma Validator: A secure, reliable avenue for $TAO holders to engage in network consensus, ensuring stability across the ecosystem.
- Yuma Mining: Leverage in-house technical expertise in AI and machine learning to enhance subnet performance through specialized mining support.
Through its early subnet incubator program, Yuma has partnered with companies including Sturdy [SN10], Masa [SN42], Score [SN44], and Infinite Games [SN6], to launch subnets successfully on Bittensor. In collaboration with Foundry, Yuma launched S&P 500 Oracle [SN28].
Those interested in building with Yuma can visit YumaAI.com or follow @YumaGroup for more information.
About DCG
Founded in 2015 by Barry Silbert, DCG is a global investor, builder, and incubator committed to advancing decentralized ecosystems built on blockchain technology. As the most active investor in the space, DCG has backed over 250 early-stage technology companies across 40 countries and holds more than 70 token and digital asset investments. In addition to its investment portfolio, DCG is the parent company of subsidiaries including Grayscale, Foundry, Luno, and Yuma. For additional information about DCG, visit www.dcg.co.
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