Art Abal, Managing Director of the Vana Foundation: Data is context, and users should regain data sovereignty and unlock value

At the "Build and Scale in 2026" themed forum recently held by ChainCatcher in Hong Kong, Art Abal, Managing Director of the Vana Foundation, delivered a speech on the topic of "Why Data is Crucial for Building AI." He systematically elaborated on the core value of data as "context" in an AI-driven era, and how users can regain data sovereignty and unlock its potential economic value through decentralized technology.

Art Abal pointed out that there is a serious data monopoly issue in the current AI ecosystem. The vast majority of consumers rely solely on a single general-purpose AI assistant and rarely use other major models, leading to the centralization of data and context. Meanwhile, large tech companies have been continuously restricting API access, terminating free services, and planning to charge fees in recent years, effectively depriving users of control over their own data and its contextual value.

In response, Vana has proposed a comprehensive solution. First, by developing tools that enable users to truly own their data; second, by establishing protocols to achieve cross-platform portability of data; and finally, by building an ecosystem that encompasses applications, data DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), and services to unlock the deeper value of data.

He concluded that in the AI era, data is context, and context is the key to differentiation. Vana's mission is to return the control of data, context, and its economic value to every user through decentralized protocols and ecosystems, in order to build a more open and fair data value internet.