The return of pragmaticism in the AI encryption track: a review of five key infrastructure projects

Author: Lex, ChainCatcher

Entering the second half of 2025, the crypto AI sector is exhibiting market characteristics that are markedly different from the first half: the tide of concept hype is receding, and pragmatism is rising strongly. The total market capitalization of AI tokens has surpassed $42 billion, a 35.7% increase from Q1, significantly outperforming the meme coin sector.

Market enthusiasm is shifting from abstract concepts to projects with real use cases, with three major trends particularly prominent: Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), identity verification, and data super-alignment. High-performance public chains like Solana and Base are becoming the main battleground for AI projects due to their high throughput and low costs, accommodating the growing demand for cross-chain AI agents and the RWA (Real World Asset) integration of computing power.

At the same time, the community's vigilance against "pseudo AI projects" is increasing, with TVL (Total Value Locked), active user numbers, and real use cases becoming core indicators for assessing project value.

This article will focus on five recent projects in the crypto AI infrastructure space, providing a foundational observation from the perspectives of positioning, background, financing, and market observations.

1. OpenMind

• Core Positioning: A cross-platform operating system (OM1) and secure collaboration protocol (FABRIC) built for intelligent robots, aiming to become the "Android" of the robotics field.
• Team Background: Founded by Stanford University professor Jan Liphardt. Core team members include former Microsoft software engineer Ali Hindy and COO Paige Xu, who previously served as a senior investment manager at OKX and a consultant at McKinsey.
• Financing Situation: Completed a $20 million financing round in August 2025, led by Pantera Capital, with follow-on investments from Coinbase Ventures, DCG, and others. Funds will be used to expand the engineering team and promote technology applications in autonomous driving, smart manufacturing, and other fields.
• Market Observations and Recommendations: The testnet node operation is simple, but actual robot demos are relatively scarce, and hardware compatibility needs market validation. Suitable for early participants interested in the AI and hardware integration track. Users can join the testnet to earn points (potential airdrop), but must closely monitor the mainnet release and hardware implementation progress. High risk is involved; small participation and monitoring of lead investors' dynamics are recommended.

2. Billions Network

• Core Positioning: Utilizing zero-knowledge proof technology to provide a universal identity verification network for humans and AI, addressing trust issues in digital interactions.
• Team Background: Co-founder and CEO Evin McMullen graduated from Yale University and previously led projects at Consensys. The team has collaborated with platforms like TikTok and WorldCoin, and conducted institutional-level system tests with Deutsche Bank and HSBC, demonstrating the capability to handle large-scale verifications.
• Financing Situation: Completed a $30 million Series A financing round in July 2025, led by Polychain Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Polygon Ventures, and others.
• Market Observations and Recommendations: Mobile verification processes are fast (about 2 seconds) and focus on privacy protection, but there have been user feedback regarding unstable connections during peak times. The community is large (over 20,000 followers on X), and applications have been made in scenarios like Airdrop anti-witch attacks. Users are advised to download the app to complete verification and participate in tasks to earn points (with token conversion expectations). Attention should be paid to network stability and the follow-up support from Series A investors.

3. Warden Protocol

• Core Positioning: An L1 blockchain designed for developers that supports cross-chain AI applications, executing on-chain and off-chain operations through AI Agents.
• Team Background: CEO David Pinger previously led R&D at Qredo Labs and held product and operations roles at Uber and Binance. Co-founder Luis Vaello Garcia was a regional director at Binance.
• Financing Situation: Specific financing details have not been disclosed. The project has completed multiple rounds of testnet and established partnerships with Messari, Hyperlane, and others.
• Market Observations and Recommendations: The intent-driven interactive interface (chat-style swap) significantly lowers the user operation threshold, attracting 700,000 active users and 150,000 swaps weekly, with a high adoption rate. Developers can build AI applications using the Cosmos SDK to earn fees, while regular users can participate in testnet tasks to earn points. Attention should be paid to the mainnet TGE and potential gas fee fluctuations in the early stages.

4. GAIB

• Core Positioning: Transforming AI computing assets like GPUs into yield-generating RWA assets, addressing the capital bottleneck of AI infrastructure. Its synthetic asset AID's staking model is referred to by the community as the "AI version of Ethena."
• Team Background: CEO and founder Kony Kwong was an investment analyst at Huobi Global and is now a venture partner at L2 Iterative Ventures. CTO Jun Liu was the technical lead at Blizzard Fund.
• Financing Situation: Completed two rounds of financing. In December 2024, it secured $5 million in a seed round led by Hack VC; in July 2025, it raised $10 million led by Amber Group.
• Market Observations and Recommendations: The project perfectly aligns with the dual hotspots of DePIN and RWA. The high yields during the Alpha staking phase have attracted many speculators but have also led to community complaints about peak gas fees and staking limits. Suitable for RWA and DeFi enthusiasts, but caution is advised regarding high leverage risks. Small-scale testing of its multi-chain staking experience (Arbitrum / Base / BNB) is recommended, along with monitoring the movements of lead investor Amber Group.

5. Gata

• Core Positioning: Focused on decentralized data infrastructure for AI super-alignment (ensuring AI aligns with human values), providing high-quality, verifiable data for AI models through tools like DataAgents.
• Team Background: Team members have not been disclosed.
• Financing Situation: Completed a $4 million seed round in April 2025, led by YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs).
• Market Observations and Recommendations: Its "GPT-to-Earn" Chrome extension allows users to "passively earn" while using AI in their daily activities, with a very low participation threshold. Community feedback indicates that its data is verified locally, with good privacy protection. The economic model for point conversion to tokens is not yet clear, presenting some uncertainty. Suitable for a wide range of daily AI users to participate at no cost, but caution is advised regarding the risks of an unclear token economic model.

Conclusion: Real Use Cases Become the Core of Value Assessment

From robotic operating systems to identity verification, from AI agents to computing finance and data ethics, the crypto AI sector is shifting from grand narratives to a pragmatic phase focused on solving specific problems. The market's evaluation criteria for projects are returning to fundamentals, with TVL, developer activity, and clear application scenarios becoming new value benchmarks.

With the improvement of underlying public chain performance and the maturation of cross-chain interoperability, projects that can provide real use cases and establish strong ecosystems are expected to stand out in the next cycle, becoming key drivers of the new Web3 engine.

For investors, conducting project research and closely monitoring community engagement and on-chain metrics will be crucial for mitigating early risks.

(This article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.)