Business • November 18, 2024, 2:59PM EST

Decentralized AI project Ritual launches testnet to bring AI onchain

Quick Take

Decentralized AI effort Ritual has launched its Ritual Chain testnet, which will provide a platform to build AI-native applications.
The team also announced the independent Ritual Foundation to provide tinkerers with educational, community and financial support.

After a year of development, decentralized AI initiative Ritual has launched its Ritual Chain testnet, according to a Monday announcement. This initiative is part of Ritual's broader mission to make AI technology more secure, accessible and integrated within blockchain ecosystems.

Ritual previously raised over $30 million from leading crypto venture capital firms, including Archetype, Accomplice and Robot Ventures. Alongside the testnet launch, the company announced the formation of the independent Ritual Foundation, which aims to promote the adoption of Ritual’s technology through grants, education and community-building programs.

The company is developing what it calls a “decentralized execution layer for AI”—essentially a Layer 1 blockchain that embeds AI functionality directly into the network's code. The goal is to enable developers to deploy AI tools securely within smart contracts, potentially leading to novel applications.

To achieve this, Ritual is providing computational guarantees so that smart contracts can automatically "trust the AI's outputs and performance." One of their initial offerings is a decentralized oracle network called the Ritual Infernet, a first-of-its-kind product that allows developers to access AI models both on-chain via smart contracts and off-chain.

“The Ritual Chain testnet enables entirely new user behavior that wasn’t possible in any other system today for interacting with AI,” Akilesh Potti, co-founder of Ritual Labs, said in a statement. “It’s not just about AI—we’re creating a foundation for next-generation RaaS platforms, prover networks, and IP marketplaces.” (RaaS stands for “rollup-as-a-service.)

Ritual is compatible with other EVM-based systems, including the Ethereum mainnet and Layer 2s like Base and Arbitrum.

Potti and his co-founder Niraj Pant previously worked at crypto-focused venture firm Polychain Capital for three years. Other early team members come from organizations such as Polychain, DeepMind, Paradigm, Coinbase, Citadel and Palantir.

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