Seoul Women’s University taps Theta EdgeCloud to power AI research with DePIN

Theta Labs has signed a multi-year agreement with Seoul Women’s University to give the AI ​​research lab access to the decentralized GPU computing power of Theta EdgeCloud.

As outlined in a press release shared with Crypto.news, this partnership will allow the AI ​​to Everything lab at SWU to leverage Theta EdgeCloud’s decentralized GPU network, reducing costs and increasing computational power for AI research in healthcare, bioinformatics, and finance.

Theta EdgeCloud, built on Theta Network (THETA), is a hybrid cloud-edge computing platform powered by DePIN. It uses over 30,000 distributed nodes to deliver scalable, cost-effective GPU computing resources for AI, media, and entertainment applications, giving users access to a global network of decentralized computing power. Last year, the project raised $1 million from VC firm DWF Labs.

According to Theta Labs, the partnership with SWU’s AIX labs is an example of how decentralized physical infrastructure networks are solving real-world problems.

Reducing costs in artificial intelligence research

Faced with the rising costs of GPUs for AI research, universities are finding traditional methods—maintaining in-house GPU clusters or using expensive cloud services—increasingly unsustainable. Theta EdgeCloud offers a solution that reduces these costs by “50-70%” and increases research productivity fivefold, says Mitch Liu, CEO of Theta Labs.

“The message from universities is unanimous: GPU access for AI research is a major financial and logistical hurdle […] “By lowering these barriers and accelerating deployment times, we are accelerating innovation across the entire AI ecosystem, which benefits everyone in the space,” Liu told crypto.news.

Professor Minseo Park, who will lead the collaboration, stated that Theta’s decentralized GPU network will bridge the gap between “academic goals and practical constraints” and that the collaboration will constitute “an important step in the democratization of AI research.”

“By leveraging this shared resource, our students and faculty can focus on pushing the boundaries of AI applications without restriction.”

Minseo Park, assistant professor in SWU’s Department of Artificial Intelligence. DePIN sector sees growth

The multi-year agreement with SWU builds on Theta Labs’ previous partnerships with Daejon-based KAIST University, which uses Theta EdgeCloud for computer vision and natural language processing, and Seoul-based Yonsei University for AI model training. This new collaboration with SWU further strengthens Theta EdgeCloud’s growing footprint in academia.

Meanwhile, the DePIN sector has rapidly gained momentum in the crypto space, with Messari predicting that its market value will reach $3.5 trillion by 2028. With its ability to eliminate middlemen and give more power to users, DePIN is emerging as one of the most promising technologies.

Early-stage DePIN projects have attracted significant venture capital funding this year, raising over $246 million across 70 deals through August 2024, Crypto.news reported. The growth represents a 296% increase from the previous year.