Palo Alto, California, June 14th, 2024,
Chainwire
Autonomys (formerly Subspace) is now an identity-based
decentralized AI (deAI) stack for human + AI (H+AI)
collaboration
Introducing Autonomys—a decentralized AI (deAI)
verticalized stack encompassing distributed storage, distributed
compute, and a decentralized application (dApp) suite. The first
primitive being built in the Auto Suite is our decentralized
identity protocol Autonomys ID (Auto ID). Autonomys's deAI
ecosystem stack is designed to provide all the necessary components
to build and deploy AI-powered dApps (super dApps) and agents, and
includes:
- Distributed Storage: ensuring data integrity and
availability, crucial for storing vast amounts of AI-related
data.
- Distributed Compute: providing scalable and secure
computational resources for AI training and
inference.
- dApp / Agent Layer: deploying and facilitating
the development of AI dApps and agents, integrated with Auto ID to
enable secure and verifiable interactions.
This verticalized stack not only enhances the capabilities of AI
applications, but also ensures that they operate within a secure
and decentralized framework. The combination of distributed storage
and compute and a robust identity protocol positions Autonomys as a
leader in the convergence of web3 and AI. Only a scalable,
decentralized network capable of handling billions of AI-augmented
users can power the transition to H+AI. These fundamentals leave
the Autonomys (formerly Subspace) Network uniquely positioned to
support the necessary primitives, including decentralized
identity-based transactions, at not only Internet-scale, but
Internet of Agents
(IoA)-scale.
“In the web3-enabled decentralized
future, humans will be empowered by AI while retaining radical
autonomy over their destinies. Unlike centralized AI, which is
often biased and profit-driven, a decentralized platform embraces
the rich tapestry of humanity, ensuring AI serves as an ally that
reflects our diversity and enriches our lives. Only through
decentralization can we achieve a future where AI truly amplifies
human potential without compromising our values. We are shamelessly
humanity maximalists.” – Labhesh Patel, Autonomys CEO.
Autonomys Network
The cornerstone of Autonomy's vision for secure, sovereign H+AI
collaboration is the Autonomys
Network, a deployment of the Subspace Protocol. Its
large community of farmers secures the blockchain—underpinned by
innovative Proof-of-Archival-Storage (PoAS) consensus—by
contributing storage, thereby earning rewards through active
participation. The growing node operator network similarly provides
compute power (execution), via our Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus
mechanism, and earns rewards. These decoupled execution
environments are called domains. Read more about the protocol in
the Autonomys Academy.
This powerful combination of consensus via PoAS and compute via
PoS provides the ideal foundation for building stable, scalable
products in the future, including Autonomys ID (Auto ID) and the
applications built on top of this primitive. In this way, the
Autonomys Network is set to become the infrastructure layer that
underpins the full web3 x AI (AI3.0)
stack, while simultaneously offering users control over their
digital lives. Autonomys is helping pioneer an alternative path of
autonomy to the state-dependency introduced by Universal Basic
Income (UBI), suggested as a solution to the potential ‘jobs
apocalypse’ brought about by the Age of AI. Our pathway, meanwhile,
leads to the Age of Autonomy.
Autonomys ID
Any deAI stack is incomplete without the ability for humans to
provide rule-based access controls. These are crucial to ensure AI
agents are developed and operate within safe, ethical boundaries.
Thus, the need for secure, verifiable identities is paramount.
Autonomys ID (Auto ID) is designed to meet this
need by providing a robust, privacy-preserving decentralized
identity protocol allowing both humans and AI agents to establish
and verify their identities seamlessly. It represents a
foundational pillar of our mission to help usher in the Age of
Autonomy. Auto ID enables you to prove your humanity and create a
unique identity on-chain without subjecting yourself to invasive
biometric scans. This comprehensive proof-of-personhood can then be
used across various dApps and services.
The integration of Auto ID within the Autonomy decentralized AI
stack goes beyond human identities, however. By equipping AI agents
with identities derived from human-controlled Auto IDs, Autonomy
can establish a system of trust and accountability. This ensures
that AI agents adhere to the guardrails defined by their human
counterparts, fostering a secure and ethical AI environment. Soon,
users will be able to use their Auto ID to develop and efficiently
collaborate with AI agents that operate and perform complex
transactions within a rule-based framework. Users can also be able
to control your agents’ permissions and authenticate AI-generated
content, bringing traceability to generative content, and allowing
users to maintain authority over their digital footprint, as well
as that of their agents.
A Brief Retrospective
In 2021, co-founders Jeremiah Wagstaff and Nazar Mokrynskyi
released the farmer’s dilemma
whitepaper after more than three years of R&D, funded entirely by grants from the U.S.
National Science Foundation and the Web3 Foundation. They conceived
of a more equitable, fourth-generation Layer-1 blockchain, in line
with Satoshi Nakamoto’s original vision. This marked the birth of
the Subspace Network. Based on a novel consensus protocol allowing
anyone to participate using their off-the-shelf PC, the network
would scale as the number of users grew. This made Subspace the
first truly scalable permanent decentralized storage solution for
web3. The same year, the project raised $4.5 million in seed
funding, and in 2022, $33 million in a strategic financing
round led by Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Crypto.com,
Hypersphere Ventures and Stratos Technologies.
Autonomy's vision of enabling web3 to operate at Internet-scale
has continued to evolve alongside the needs of the industry. In the
years following, Subspace was unique in offering modular compute
and execution, and developed into the scalable Layer-0
blockchain for both storage and compute.
Looking to the Future
At Autonomys, the aim is to take that a step further. The new
roadmap foresees the Autonomys Network also serving as the:
future foundation layer for
open, secure & accountable web3 x
AI integration.
The company believes it has the tech, personnel and experience
to achieve that goal. Over the last year, the project has taken a
deep dive into AI under the inspiring leadership of our former CEO
Jeremiah Wagstaff. While he and co-founder Nazar are stepping back
from day-to-day leadership, they will continue to steer R&D
through our most difficult problems, including further scaling via
data sharding, and collective alignment of agentic AI. The team is
immensely grateful for the insightful feedback we received from our
diverse ecosystem of stakeholders during this time. It has been
instrumental in our decision-making.
Autonomy's new CEO Labhesh Patel, an expert in identity and AI, is
stewarding Autonomys towards this AI3.0 mission, and is already
pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. In the coming days and
weeks, the community can expect Subspace’s domains, social handles
and more to rebrand to Autonomys. Labhesh will soon be hosting a
X/Twitter space to discuss these changes with
the community. We’re incredibly excited for you to meet him.
Labhesh has over a decade of experience spanning the AI, web3,
and identity and access management (IAM) industries, and brings a
wealth of expertise to the project. In addition to developing
cutting-edge technologies in digital ID, KYC and identity
verification, Labhesh has dedicated years to the building and
productizing of large-scale AI models. He is leveraging this
experience to architect the creation of Auto ID, which will utilize
fraud-resistant, non-invasive protocols to ensure secure
Proof-of-Personhood (PoP) atop the Autonomys AI3.0 stack. His
professional career is marked by a commitment to privacy, security
and the seamless integration of AI and blockchain technology.
Users are invited to follow on X, and join
the Autonomys community on Discord if you they haven't already. Exciting
updates and announcements are to follow. Autonomys’ new vision—to
integrate the power of web3 with AI—is beginning to be realized
with the release of Nova EVM and,
soon, Auto ID. Looking ahead, we’re laser-focused on our plan to go
live on mainnet in Q3 2024, and the team is looking forward to
sharing more details and sneak peeks into the Auto product suite in
the near future.
AI3.0 By Autonomys
As we move forward, Autonomys remains committed to driving
innovation at the intersection of web3 and AI—what we’re calling
AI3.0. Our vision is to create a world where AI agents and humans
can interact seamlessly and securely within a decentralized
ecosystem. By providing a comprehensive decentralized AI stack and
a pioneering identity framework with Auto ID, we are laying the
foundation for a future where technology empowers and protects
individuals and their digital counterparts.
Welcome to Autonomys. Join us as an active participant
in the Age of Autonomy.
Contacts
Marketing Lead
Radha
Mathur
Autonomys
Network
radha@autonomys.net
Head of
Ecosystem
Jim
Counter
Autonomys
Network
jim@autonomys.net