New Generation Revenue Opportunities for Individual Investors: A Guide to Participating in GPU Cloud in the AI Era

With the rapid expansion of the AI market, new trends are emerging in the blockchain industry. GPU cloud projects that combine DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure) and AI are attracting the attention of venture capitalists. Unlike traditional mining, these projects are characterized by their accessibility to individual investors.

How Individuals Can Participate in GPU Cloud Projects

Traditional blockchain mining required large capital investments, but GPU cloud-based DePIN projects are taking a different approach. By utilizing surplus GPU resources, small-scale investors now have more opportunities to generate income.

What’s particularly noteworthy is that these projects are perfectly synchronized with the AI boom. Since the advent of ChatGPT, AI and machine learning companies have demanded enormous computational power, and the shortage and high costs of centralized cloud services have become issues. Blockchain decentralization offers a solution to these problems.

Two Prominent Projects Supporting the Solana Ecosystem

io.net’s Decentralized GPU Strategy

Built on Solana, io.net is a project that provides decentralized computing power to AI and machine learning companies. Founder Ahmad Shadid recognized the need for this ecosystem based on his experience building a GPU computing network for his quantum trading company.

The project operates on the concept of the “GPU Internet,” aggregating unused resources from data centers and miners, and automating task scheduling. Users can run model training, batch inference, reinforcement learning, and other processes on this network, gaining an environment with better availability and pricing than typical cloud services.

From March to April this year, a reward program called “Ignition” was launched, allowing participants to earn points based on the amount of GPU supplied to the network. These points are expected to be exchangeable for tokens when IO tokens are issued.

Game × Computing Power Fusion Model: Gaimin

Also deployed on Solana, Gaimin is a project launched by eSports team Gaimin Gladiators, adopting a different strategy from the general io.net. By integrating a gaming platform with decentralized cloud computing, players can lend out unused GPU capacity during gameplay and earn additional rewards.

The Gaimin.cloud platform built by the project offers services such as video rendering, AI deep learning, and blockchain computation. Players can install a Windows application to automatically mine $GMRX tokens.

Recently, the project announced plans to build an L2 guide chain on BNB Chain, aiming for a throughput exceeding 150k TPS in collaboration with MovementLab. An IDO on Seedify is scheduled for late March, and airdrops for Gaimin Gladiators NFT holders have also begun.

Emerging AI Model Execution Projects: Heurist

Unlike the two above, Heurist is a more early-stage community project. Built on a ZK Stack-based L2 chain, it is optimized for hosting and inference of AI models.

What makes this project unique is that it is not just a GPU rental platform but utilizes users’ computational power to run specific LLM training models. AI services including text and image generation are available, and users and providers interact within the $HUE token economy.

Participation mechanisms are diverse. Miners can host AI models and earn rewards, model developers can receive a portion of user payments, application developers can earn fee shares, and validator node operators can earn rewards through data integrity checks.

Currently, an incentive testnet is running, allowing access to AI services via API application. It is designed for individuals to function as network participants.

Advantages of GPU Mining for Individual Investors

Considering the competitive environment of the cryptocurrency market, participation in GPU cloud projects holds a special position.

Existing airdrop projects like Blast and EigenLayer often involve ETH staking, favoring large-scale capitalists. In contrast, GPU mining approaches resemble early POW chains, playing a crucial role even with small investments.

By participating in these GPU cloud projects, individual investors can enjoy the following benefits:

• Low Entry Barriers: Participation is possible without additional investment if you already have existing GPU hardware
• Continuous Rewards: Environment to gradually earn tokens as mining rewards
• Scalability: Reward distribution mechanisms based on the scale of computational power
• Diverse Participation Methods: Flexible entry options such as GPU hosting, token staking, NFT utilization

Future Outlook for the GPU Cloud Market

DePIN × AI computational mining is expected to increase further from this year onward. Given the high societal interest in AI technology, new projects are likely to enter the space.

For individual investors with limited funds, GPU cloud projects may offer unexpected income opportunities. Unlike traditional large-scale mining, the direct contribution of individual participation to network value creation makes this approach particularly noteworthy.