At a recent conference in Prague, two top venture capitalists, Rob Hadick and David Pakman, raised concerns about the role decentralized crypto projects might play in competing with major AI companies like OpenAI and Microsoft.
While the merging of crypto and AI has sparked significant investment, both VCs warned that this may not be the moment for crypto to disrupt the AI giants.
Hadick expressed skepticism about the typical approach of crypto projects, which often seek to bring off-chain services onto the blockchain. He believes that, rather than improving existing models, crypto tends to complicate them, often with little benefit. In his view, AI’s real value for crypto is in its ability to enhance the development of decentralized applications, improving efficiency but not necessarily changing the game.
Pakman, on the other hand, acknowledged AI’s powerful influence on software development, especially in Web3, and the potential it holds to improve infrastructure, security, and application behavior in decentralized ecosystems. However, both he and Hadick agree that decentralized AI is unlikely to challenge centralized players in the near future.
Pakman also highlighted the potential of Web3 in decentralizing access to AI resources, suggesting that, while centralized systems currently dominate, crypto technologies could help create a more equitable future by distributing the compute power needed for large AI models.
The discussion also touched on agent-based AI, which can autonomously perform tasks for users. Hadick remained wary of these projects, comparing them to the crypto gaming hype of 2021, which ultimately failed to deliver on promises. He warned that agent-based AI could end up being a winner-takes-all market.
While both VCs remain cautious about the immediate impact of decentralized AI, they see potential for future collaboration between AI and crypto, though the path forward remains uncertain.
Jonathan Mann, the creator behind the long-running “Song A Day” project, has turned his crypto misfortune into a musical cautionary tale.
Elon Musk’s financial standing has taken a major hit, with his net worth shrinking by $70 billion since his public fallout with Donald Trump.
UBS analyst Brian Meredith has revised his outlook on Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B shares, trimming the price target from $606 to $591, while maintaining a “buy” rating.
In a move not seen in decades, the U.S. Treasury Department has initiated a historic $10 billion bond buyback—its largest ever—targeting securities set to mature between mid-2025 and mid-2027.