Top 25 Most Influential People in Crypto AI

As artificial intelligence and blockchain technology converge, a new breed of innovators is shaping the future of crypto AI. This article profiles the 25 most influential figures driving the integration of AI and cryptocurrency, from visionary founders to brilliant developers. 

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These trailblazers are revolutionizing everything from decentralized computing networks to AI-powered financial tools, paving the way for a more intelligent and decentralized digital economy. Their groundbreaking work is not only transforming the crypto landscape but also redefining the potential of AI in our increasingly interconnected world.

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1) Sam Altman - Worldcoin

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Sam Altman, tech entrepreneur and CEO of OpenAI, co-founded Worldcoin to create a global digital identity system using biometric technology. The project aims to establish privacy-preserving proof of personhood for applications like universal basic income and AI governance. Despite controversy, Worldcoin continues to expand, recently announcing the developer preview of World Chain.

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2) Dominic Williams - Internet Computer

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Dominic Williams spearheads DFINITY's Internet Computer Protocol, aiming to create a decentralized "world computer" for hosting websites, enterprise systems, and DeFi applications. The project leverages innovative technologies like Chain Key and the Network Nervous System to extend public internet functionality. Despite challenges, Internet Computer continues to evolve, recently integrating with Bitcoin to enhance its capabilities.

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3) Illia Polosukhin - NEAR Protocol

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Illia Polosukhin co-founded NEAR Protocol, revolutionizing decentralized computing with a scalable, user-friendly approach. Polosukhin drives innovation through initiatives like the Blockchain Operating System and NEAR's unique sharding technology, Nightshade. His dual expertise in AI and blockchain positions NEAR at the forefront of "user-owned AI," potentially reshaping both technologies' future.

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4) Gavin Wood - Polkadot

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Gavin Wood, a blockchain visionary and former Ethereum CTO, Founded Polkadot, an ambitious interoperability protocol aiming to create a seamless, interconnected web of blockchains. Polkadot's innovative architecture features a central Relay Chain and specialized Parachains, enabling parallel processing and customizable blockchain development. Wood continues to innovate, recently introducing Polkadot 2.0 and the JAM concept.

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5) Ben Goertzel - SingularityNET

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Dr. Ben Goertzel spearheads SingularityNET, a decentralized AI marketplace melding blockchain technology with AI services. The platform aims to build a foundation for open, decentralized, and beneficial Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Goertzel's multifaceted approach combines AI research with blockchain principles, potentially reshaping how AI services are created, shared, and utilized globally.

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6) Navin Vethanayagam - BrainDAO

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Navin Vethanayagam leads BrainDAO, transforming the former Everipedia into a multifaceted platform encompassing IQ.wiki, IQ GPT, and innovative projects. His strategic leadership has expanded the IQ token's utility and positioned BrainDAO at the intersection of blockchain and AI technologies. 

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Under his guidance, BrainDAO has evolved into a powerhouse managing a diverse treasury and pioneering AI-driven tools for blockchain knowledge dissemination.

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7) Erman Tjiputra - AIOZ

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Erman Tjiputra, founded AIOZ Network to revolutionize web3 infrastructure by combining decentralized storage, AI computation, and content delivery. AIOZ's approach leverages a global network of edge nodes, creating a robust ecosystem for decentralized applications and content distribution. Tjiputra's computer vision and medical imaging background informs AIOZ's cutting-edge features, particularly in AI integration and data privacy.

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8) Jules Urbach - Render Network

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Jules Urbach, a visionary entrepreneur in cloud graphics founded OTOY and Render Network, revolutionizing the 3D rendering industry through decentralized GPU rendering. Render Network creates a global marketplace for distributed computing power in complex rendering tasks. Urbach's innovation extends to support diverse compute-intensive applications in AI, VR, and big data.

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9) Greg Osuri - Akash Network

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Greg Osuri co-founded Akash Network to revolutionize cloud computing through decentralization, creating a global marketplace for computing resources. Akash's unique approach allows peer-to-peer sharing of server capacity, powered by the AKT token. Osuri's leadership has driven implementation of groundbreaking features like GPU support and fractional uAKT, enhancing the network's utility and accessibility.

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10) Bruce Pon - Ocean Protocol

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Bruce Pon founded Ocean Protocol to revolutionize data ownership and monetization in the AI era. The platform creates a decentralized marketplace for data, enabling secure sharing and monetization while preserving privacy. Ocean Protocol is reshaping how industries approach data sharing, positioning itself at the forefront of the Web3 data revolution.

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11) Julian Zehetmayr - LimeWire

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Julian Zehetmayr revived LimeWire as a Web3 platform, transforming the former file-sharing service into an AI-powered content creation and NFT marketplace. The platform combines blockchain technology with AI tools, enabling users to generate, own, and trade AI-produced content across multiple networks. Through strategic acquisitions and innovations like the LimeWire AI Studio, Zehetmayr's vision has positioned LimeWire at the forefront of democratizing AI-generated content in the Web3 ecosystem.

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12) Humayun Sheikh - Fetch.AI

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Humayun Sheikh, co-founder and CEO of Fetch.ai, is pioneering the integration of AI and blockchain to create a decentralized machine learning network. Fetch.ai's innovative platform employs Autonomous Economic Agents to perform tasks and facilitate seamless transactions, aiming to revolutionize sectors from IoT to decentralized marketplaces. Sheikh's vision extends beyond creating a mere digital economy, as Fetch.ai strives to democratize AI technology and empower businesses through its FET token ecosystem and strategic partnerships with industry giants like Bosch and IOTA.

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13) Jacob Robert Steeves - Bittensor 

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Jacob Robert Steeves, co-founder of Bittensor, is pioneering a decentralized AI network that merges blockchain technology with machine learning. Bittensor's innovative "Proof of Intelligence" consensus mechanism rewards nodes for contributing valuable AI models, creating a collaborative ecosystem for AI development. Despite recent security challenges, Steeves' vision for Bittensor as a censorship-resistant, open-source repository of machine intelligence, powered by the TAO token, aims to democratize AI technology and reshape the landscape of distributed computing.

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14) Miguel Morel

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Miguel Morel, founder of Arkham Intelligence, has pioneered a revolutionary crypto analytics platform that merges AI with blockchain data to unveil the entities behind on-chain transactions. Arkham's innovative "intel-to-earn" model, powered by the ARKM token, incentivizes users to contribute valuable crypto intelligence, creating a decentralized ecosystem for on-chain sleuthing. Despite controversy surrounding its Intel Exchange, Morel's vision for Arkham as a transparent, community-driven intelligence platform continues to reshape the landscape of blockchain analytics, offering unprecedented insights into crypto transactions and entity behavior.

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15) Tomaž Levak (OriginTrail)

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Tomaž Levak, co-founder and CEO of Trace Labs, spearheads OriginTrail, a pioneering Web3 infrastructure project that seamlessly integrates blockchain with a decentralized knowledge graph. OriginTrail's innovative approach, powered by TRAC and OTP tokens, enables trusted data exchange and verification across diverse sectors, from supply chain management to NFTs. Levak's vision extends beyond mere blockchain application, aiming to create a neutral, inclusive ecosystem that bridges physical and digital realities, potentially revolutionizing how organizations share and leverage data in the evolving digital landscape.

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16) David (@pupsikcrypto)

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David (@pupsikcrypto), co-founder of PAAL AI, spearheads a revolutionary platform that seamlessly integrates artificial intelligence with blockchain technology to empower users in the crypto space. PAAL's suite of tools, including MyPaalBot and AutoPaalX, offers personalized AI assistants for cryptocurrency analysis, trading, and portfolio management, leveraging advanced machine learning to provide tailored insights and automated trading capabilities. The platform's native $PAAL token not only facilitates governance and staking but also serves as the backbone of an ecosystem designed to reward user engagement and contribution, potentially reshaping how individuals interact with and leverage AI in the rapidly evolving world of digital assets.

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17) Theodor Forselius - IQ.Wiki

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Theodor Forselius, a Swedish entrepreneur, co-founded IQ.wiki (formerly Everipedia) at 19, pioneering the world's first blockchain-based encyclopedia. Under his leadership, IQ.wiki evolved from a Wikipedia alternative to a cutting-edge Web3 platform, integrating AI, blockchain, and decentralized governance through the IQ token. Forselius's vision transformed IQ.wiki into a comprehensive ecosystem, including IQ GPT and IQ.social, positioning it at the forefront of decentralized knowledge creation and AI-powered blockchain information dissemination.

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18) Ilan Rakhmanov - ChainGPT

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Ilan Rakhmanov, a serial entrepreneur with a keen focus on AI and blockchain, founded ChainGPT to bridge the gap between artificial intelligence and Web3 technologies. ChainGPT offers a comprehensive ecosystem of AI-powered tools, including a Web3 chatbot, NFT generator, and trading assistant, all fueled by the CGPT token, which serves as the backbone for governance, staking, and ecosystem interactions. Rakhmanov's vision aims to revolutionize the crypto space by making advanced AI capabilities accessible to both retail users and startups, as evidenced by the platform's innovative features like the AI-driven news aggregator and the ChainGPT Launchpad for incubating new projects.

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19) Hang Yin - Phala Network

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Hang Yin, co-founder and Chief Scientist of Phala Network, leverages his experience as the lead developer of Bitcoin Gold's Equihash algorithm to pioneer privacy-preserving cloud computing. Phala Network innovatively combines Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) with blockchain technology to offer confidential smart contract execution and data protection services within the Polkadot ecosystem. By utilizing a unique TEE-Blockchain Hybrid Architecture and its native PHA token, Phala aims to revolutionize decentralized applications and Web3 services, exemplified by their Web3 Analytics tool, which analyzes user data without compromising personal privacy.

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20) Piotr Janiuk - Golem Network

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Piotr Janiuk, co-founder and CEO of Golem Network, leverages his expertise in mathematics and computer science to pioneer a decentralized computing marketplace. Golem Network revolutionizes resource allocation by enabling users to rent out idle computing power, creating a peer-to-peer ecosystem for tasks ranging from CGI rendering to AI computations. Under Janiuk's leadership, Golem has evolved from its initial crowdfunding success to a sophisticated platform with its native GLM token, integrating cutting-edge features like the Reputation System and collaborations with projects like Polygon, positioning it at the forefront of distributed computing in the blockchain era.

21) Sabin Dima - Humans.ai

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Sabin Dima, founder and CEO of Humans.ai, spearheads a revolutionary platform that seamlessly integrates blockchain technology with artificial intelligence to foster ethical AI adoption. Humans.ai's innovative ecosystem, powered by the $HEART token, introduces groundbreaking concepts like the AI Library, Digital Genome, and Proof of Human mechanism, aiming to democratize AI creation while ensuring transparency and accountability. Under Dima's leadership, Humans.ai is not only developing cutting-edge AI tools for synthetic media and governance but also collaborating with governments to implement AI solutions, potentially reshaping the landscape of AI development and application in the public and private sectors.

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22) Joshua Meng - RSS3

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Joshua Meng, founder of RSS3 and Natural Selection Labs, is pioneering the development of an Open Information Layer to revolutionize data exchange in the Web3 era. Through RSS3, Meng aims to create a decentralized infrastructure that seamlessly integrates social media, search functionality, and AI capabilities, addressing the challenges of data fragmentation and user control in the digital landscape. 

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23) Sergey Ivancheglo - Qubic

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Sergey Ivancheglo, a pioneering blockchain developer known as "Come-from-Beyond," has shaped the crypto landscape through his work on NXT, IOTA, and now Qubic. His latest brainchild, Qubic, revolutionizes blockchain technology by introducing Useful Proof-of-Work (UPoW), repurposing mining power for AI training while offering high-speed smart contract execution. This innovative platform, with its quorum-based computation system and integration of AI through the Aigarth system, represents Ivancheglo's vision of merging blockchain efficiency with practical AI applications, potentially redefining the intersection of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.

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24) Yuheng Chan - Delysium

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Yuheng Chan, a visionary entrepreneur and Y Combinator alumnus, founded Delysium to revolutionize the intersection of AI, blockchain, and gaming. Delysium's innovative platform enables the creation of AI-Twins, fostering a new paradigm of human-AI interaction within a decentralized virtual society. Backed by major investors and partnered with tech giants like Google Cloud and Microsoft, Delysium aims to democratize AI technology and redefine Web3 experiences through its AGI token ecosystem and groundbreaking AI agent network, Lucy.

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25) Kai Zou - Netmind AI

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Kai Zou, a mathematician turned AI entrepreneur, founded Netmind AI to democratize access to computing power for AI development. Netmind's innovative platform harnesses idle GPUs globally, creating a decentralized network for AI training and inference, powered by the NMT token and NetMind Chain. With products like NetMind Power, NetMind Chat, and Avagi, Zou's vision extends beyond distributed computing to encompass customizable AI assistants and digital humans, potentially reshaping the landscape of AI accessibility and development.

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Wrapping Up

The convergence of AI and cryptocurrency is ushering in a new era of decentralized innovation, with far-reaching implications for industries beyond finance. As evidenced by the visionaries profiled here, the future of AI crypto lies in democratizing access to advanced technologies, enhancing data privacy, and creating more efficient, transparent systems. 

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From decentralized computing networks to AI-powered governance models, these pioneers are laying the groundwork for a more intelligent and equitable digital economy. The rapid advancements in this field suggest that AI crypto will play a crucial role in shaping the future of technology, finance, and society at large.

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For those eager to be at the forefront of this revolutionary intersection, Lunar Strategy is proud to announce our first of its kind large-scale AI Crypto conference, in Lisbon on November 9-10, 2024. This groundbreaking event will bring together industry leaders, innovators, and enthusiasts to explore the latest developments and future possibilities in the AI crypto space—headlined by ICP & Privasea. 

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Grab your tickets & don't miss this unique opportunity to be part of the conversation that's defining the future of technology and finance! 

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