Sahara AI CEO: 'Blockchain Will Solve AI Ownership Issues' [Cointerview]

Interview with Sean Ren, CEO of Sahara AI

'One-Stop Platform' for AI Developers

Helps Protect AI Model Ownership and Generate Revenue

Collaborating with 30+ Global Companies Including Microsoft

"In the future, individuals will own artificial intelligence (AI) and be able to generate revenue from it. Sahara AI's goal is to make it easier and more efficient for individuals to develop AI."

Sean Ren, Co-founder and CEO of Sahara AI (pictured), revealed this vision for Sahara AI in an interview with BloomingBit on the 20th. As economic activities using AI increase, the importance of AI model ownership is growing. Sahara AI is a blockchain platform that protects asset ownership rights for AI.

Previously, Sahara AI raised $43 million (approximately 62 billion won) from major global investors including Binance Labs, Pantera Capital, and Polychain Capital. Notably, Samsung Next, Samsung's investment subsidiary, is known to have invested in Korea.

We discussed various topics with Sean, including Sahara AI's establishment process, the combination of AI and blockchain, and matters related to Sahara AI's token.

"Sahara AI Dreams of Being a 'One-Stop Platform' for AI Ownership and Development"

Sean completed his Ph.D. in Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and currently serves as an associate professor of Computer Science at the University of Southern California (USC). He revealed that his 12 years of AI research during his education greatly influenced the establishment of Sahara AI.

Regarding Sahara AI's founding background, Sean explained, "While researching the GPT-3 model in 2022, I thought that in the future, AI could generate revenue on behalf of humans," adding, "We wanted to create a platform where users could claim ownership of their data and AI models using blockchain technology." In other words, they decided to build a 'one-stop platform' for AI developers.

To this end, Sahara AI has built a copyright system for AI data and models within the platform. It consists of the 'AI Asset Registry' for tracking assets, 'AI Licensing' for controlling access, 'AI Ownership' for protecting non-transferable ownership records, and 'AI Attribution' for tracking revenue contribution and distribution.

Additionally, on the 12th, Sahara AI launched early access to 'AI Studio,' where AI development processes can be performed in one place. Sahara AI's AI Studio is a development tool that assists in the series of processes from data purchase to AI model building and execution, and application implementation. In particular, developers can customize various AIs, including large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and DeepSeek, to their liking.

Sean noted, "While ChatGPT currently being commercialized was developed by OpenAI, it's actually a model created with data contributed by people worldwide," adding, "Similarly, Sahara AI means forming a vast environment by gathering countless grains of sand, which is data."

"Combining AI and Blockchain Will Help Developers Generate Revenue"

Sean explained that the most crucial point in combining AI and blockchain is "accurate value assessment of AI models and data." He emphasized, "AI development requires significant cost and effort. For sustainable development, commercialization and practical productization of AI models must be possible."

Sean was particularly confident that this aspect differentiates Sahara AI from other AI projects. In fact, Sahara AI has proven its commercialization potential by providing AI model solutions to Hollywood creator agencies and India's auto parts manufacturer Motherson Group.

Sean said, "Sahara AI is currently collaborating with more than 30 global companies including Microsoft, Amazon, Character AI, and Snapchat for AI model provision. Through this, we are in the learning process to become a feasible AI project," adding, "I think this strength allowed Sahara AI to attract significant investment."

Furthermore, Sean predicted that the combination of AI and blockchain could prevent centralization in the AI industry. He explained, "Currently, the biggest obstacle in AI development is GPU costs. Except for big tech companies, it's difficult for AI developers to secure necessary resources," adding, "To solve this problem, Sahara AI adopted an operational method where computing power is provided free initially, and revenue is generated later from the developed AI models."

He added, "This decentralized AI model development environment will encourage AI developers' participation and create competition, forming a virtuous cycle where AI technology can develop further."

"Token Launch Planned for Q2 This Year... Expecting Korean Developer Participation"

Meanwhile, Sahara AI is preparing major events this year, including mainnet launch and airdrop (free token distribution to network participants proportional to their contribution). Sean said, "Sahara AI's official token launch is scheduled for Q2 this year," and asked to "please check the official Sahara AI Twitter or website for token launch-related information."

Various events are also being prepared to target the Korean market. Sean said, "Korea is a country with a culture that actively embraces new ideas while also having localized culture," adding, "To target the Korean market, we plan to actively hold local community events, meetups, and networking events."

He added, "We will listen directly to the Korean developer community's opinions and prepare step by step to target the Korean market," concluding, "I hope many Korean developers can understand the value and opportunities that Sahara AI offers."