PIN AI secures $10M from a16z CSX, Hack VC, and All-Star angels to launch open platform for personal AI

San
Francisco,
United
States,
September
9th,
2024,
Chainwire

Innovative
startup
from
Ethereum
Core
research,
Google
Brain,
Stanford,
MIT,
and
CMU
aims
to
democratize
on-device
intelligence,
empowering
users
with
control
over
their
personal
AI,
and
receiving
investment
from
a16z
CSX,
Hack
VC,
and
investors
from
projects
like
Solana,
Polygon,
Near,
Worldcoin,
etc.

PIN
AI,
a
pioneering
AI
infrastructure
company,
announces
$10
million
in
pre-seed
funding
to
develop
the
world’s
first
open-source
Personal
Intelligence
Network
(PIN).
A16z
CSX,
Hack
VC,
and
notable
investors,
including
Blockchain
Builders
Fund
(Stanford
Blockchain
Accelerator),
Illia
Polosukhin
(Transformer
paper
author;
Founder,
NEAR
Protocol),
Anagram/Lily
Liu
(President,
SOL
Foundation),
Symbolic
Capital
(Co-Founder,
Polygon),
Evan
Cheng
(CEO,
Mysten
Labs/SUI),
dcbuilder
(Worldcoin
Foundation),
Foresight
Ventures
(parent
company
of
the
Block),
Nomad
Capital,
Tim
Shi
(Co-Founder,
Cresta),
Ben
Fisch
(CEO,
Espresso),
Scott
Moore
(Co-Founder,
Gitcoin),
Alumni
Ventures,
and
Dispersion
Capital,
have
backed
the
project.

Offering
an
open-source,
web3-enabled
alternative
to
Apple
Intelligence,
PIN
AI’s
platform
turns
smartphones
into
privacy-focused
AI
personal
assistants.
By
redirecting
profits
from
users’
data
and
attention,
it
empowers
users
to
regain
control
and
monetize
their
data.
The
platform
leverages
personal,
contextual
data
and
cryptography,
deploying
cutting-edge
AI
models
on-device
to
handle
tasks
across
apps—like
shopping,
ordering
food,
wealth
management,
and
interacting
with
centralized
exchanges,
DeFi,
and
prediction
markets.

This
AI-driven
assistant
ensures
robust
privacy
and
user-controlled
data
management,
disrupting
ultra-profitable
models
of
web2
giants,
including
Apple’s
30%
app
revenue
cut
(over
$100
billion)
and
Google’s
mobile
ads
and
Android
store
revenue
cuts.

Davide
Crapis,
Co-Founder
leading
Protocol
Research,
said,
“We’re
building
a
movement
towards
an
open-source
future
where
personal
AI
assistants
can
work
on
PIN
AI’s
platform
like
smart
contracts
on
Ethereum.”
He
added,
“PIN
AI
will
take
back
the
$100b+
profit
from
tech
giants
and
return
it
to
users,
allowing
them
to
control
and
monetize
their
data.
Our
platform
offers
access
to
a
wider
range
of
AI
agents,
developed
by
the
open-source
community,
capable
of
handling
tasks
across
popular
apps.”

PIN
AI’s
mission
is
to
foster
innovation
for
personal
AI
agents
by
offering
access
to
personal,
contextual
data
that
reflects
individual
users’
needs
and
preferences.
Unlike
closed
ecosystems
like
Apple,
PIN
AI’s
open
platform
connects
privacy-protected
user
data
via
a
Layer-2
blockchain.
This
enables
more
flexibility
in
AI
application
development
without
the
constraints
of
traditional,
closed
systems.

Bill
Sun,
Co-Founder
and
Chief
Scientist,
said,
“On-device
multi-modality
models
will
revolutionize
daily
life.
We
are
building
a
personal
index
for
each
user
to
create
an
on-device
model
that
evolves
via
distributed
training
on
the
user’s
phone.
Soon,
users
won’t
need
to
open
multiple
apps
to
complete
tasks.
The
personal
AI
assistant
will
understand
preferences
and
manage
tasks
efficiently.”
PIN
AI’s
assistant
will
connect
users
with
apps
and
services
bidding
on
its
blockchain
protocol
to
fulfill
tasks
like
shopping
or
crypto
activities.

PIN
AI
shifts
data
monetization
from
big
tech
to
users,
allowing
secure
monetization
of
personal
data.
Users
receive
token
incentives
through
data
onboarding
and
intent
fulfillment,
only
providing
necessary
data
with
matched
Personal
AI
Agents,
while
maintaining
control
of
their
information.

At
launch,
PIN
AI
partners
with
Worldcoin
and
is
developing
a
front-end
product
similar
to
Siri,
expanding
its
reach
and
enhancing
user
experience.

Leading
the
team
are
co-founders
Davide
Crapis
and
Ben
Wu.
Crapis,
formerly
of
Ethereum
Core
Research,
leads
Protocol
Research.
Ben
Wu,
heading
Strategy,
is
an
MIT
graduate,
Y
Combinator
alum,
and
serial
entrepreneur.
The
technical
leadership
includes
Bill
Sun,
a
Stanford
AI/Math
PhD
and
early
Google
Brain
researcher,
as
Chief
AI
Scientist,
and
Regan
Peng,
a
CMU
graduate
and
former
lead
at
Didi
Fintech
and
Yahoo
Data
Infra,
as
Founding
Head
of
Engineering.

PIN
AI
collaborates
with
a16z
crypto
research,
Flashbots,
Espresso
Systems,
and
academics
from
Stanford,
Columbia,
and
NYU.
Ben
Wu
emphasized
the
importance
of
an
open
platform,
saying,
“The
open
internet
has
made
large
language
models
possible.
We
need
to
build
an
open
platform
for
users
on
their
trusted
device,
allowing
access
to
their
various
data,
making
their
Personal
AI
possible.”
Unlike
Apple
Intelligence,
PIN
AI’s
system
can
run
on
low-spec
smartphones
by
dynamically
shifting
between
edge
AI
(on-device)
and
server
AI
to
optimize
performance,
ensuring
wide
accessibility.

The
funding
will
expand
research,
grow
the
team
of
AI
and
blockchain
experts,
and
accelerate
the
deployment
of
PIN
AI’s
technology.
The
company
will
join
the
a16z
CSX
Fall
2024
cohort
in
New
York
City.

About
PIN
AI

PIN
AI
is
developing
an
open-source
personal
AI
operating
system
that
leverages
smartphone
and
app
data
to
empower
users
with
control
and
privacy.
The
company’s
approach
aims
to
connect
AI
developers
with
users,
promoting
data
sovereignty
and
developer
empowerment.
PIN
AI
collaborates
with
Ethereum
Core
Research
and
is
committed
to
privacy
and
innovation.

For
more
updates,
visit

pinai.io,

X
(formerly
Twitter),

Telegram,

Discord,
and

Linkedin.

Contact

PIN
AI
[email protected]