Erik Voorhees

Erik Voorhees is the founder of Venice, a privacy-focused, censorship-resistant artificial intelligence platform that utilizes open-source models and decentralized infrastructure. The platform offers various AI services, including chat-based assistance, document analysis, and image generation, while ensuring user privacy by not storing conversations.

Venice features the VVV token, which combines blockchain technology with generative AI to enable autonomous AI agents, bots, and developers to access decentralized and uncensored inference via its API. This approach reduces costs and friction compared to closed-source AI platforms. The platform does not require token use for access but offers benefits for those who stake VVV tokens, such as yield generation and enhanced access to the Venice API.

Prior to Venice, Voorhees was the founder and CEO of ShapeShift, a cryptocurrency exchange platform that facilitates the trading of digital assets without the need for user accounts or personally identifiable information, emphasizing privacy and decentralization. ShapeShift was founded in 2014 and has been a significant player in promoting the use of cryptocurrencies by offering a straightforward and non-custodial way to exchange digital assets.

Voorhees has been an advocate for the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency movement, often engaging in discussions and debates about the role of digital currencies in the global financial system. Before founding ShapeShift, he was involved with several other blockchain-related projects, including SatoshiDICE, a blockchain-based online gambling platform, which was one of the first major businesses to operate solely with Bitcoin. His efforts have often centered around the principles of economic freedom and the use of cryptocurrencies as tools for financial independence.