Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Zero Gravity (0G), a decentralised AI infrastructure company, have announced a S$5 million partnership to establish a joint research hub advancing blockchain-based artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that will be more accessible and accountable.
This marks 0G’s first university collaboration globally and will fund multiple projects exploring decentralised AI training, blockchain-integrated model alignment, and proof-of-useful-work consensus mechanisms.
The initiative aims to bridge academic research and scalable infrastructure for open AI systems, which will be different from conventional AI systems that are closed and controlled by private companies.
For instance, instead of AI systems running in closed servers where processing and results are not transparent, using blockchain technology will allow every step of the process, from training to output, to be recorded and verified.
This joint research hub was launched today by 0G Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Michael Heinrich and NTU Vice President (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) Professor Louis Phee.
“Open and trustworthy AI depends on a foundation that is decentralised and accountable,” said Prof Phee. “NTU has built world-class expertise in blockchain systems, cryptography and computing. By working with 0G, we aim to design a next-generation, innovative AI stack that enables global participation and transparency for everyone.”
0G recently announced over US$325 million in committed funding, including a US$40 million seed round led by Hack VC with participation from Delphi Ventures, OKX Ventures, Samsung Next, and Animoca Brands.
“Our mission is to make AI a public good,” said Michael Heinrich, CEO and Co-founder of 0G. “By partnering with NTU, we are aligning with a global leader in blockchain and computing research to move beyond centralised AI monopolies. Together, we will build an open ecosystem where developers, institutions, and communities can contribute, verify, and audit.”
The collaboration will be jointly led by Professor Wen Yonggang, NTU Associate Provost (Graduate Education) and Dean of the Graduate College, and Dr Ming Wu, 0G Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer.
Their teams will develop decentralised computing architectures and secure AI marketplaces that reward contributors for data and computing resources.
The four-year initiative will also include workshops, hackathons, student scholarships, and open-source projects to nurture Asia’s next generation of decentralised AI talent.
Early proof-of-concepts are expected within the first two years, targeting pilot applications in finance, healthcare, and smart infrastructure.
NTU’s College of Computing and Data Science and its Centre in Computational Technologies for Finance (CCTF) will provide research leadership in scalable model training, AI governance, and blockchain-enabled security frameworks.
The partnership positions Singapore as a hub for open and trustworthy AI development and sets the stage for future international collaboration in decentralised intelligence.
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