I’ve been deeply involved in AI research for years and understand both the immense benefits and potential challenges of the technology. One of the most significant hurdles is the high threshold of AI, particularly the need for vast computational power, which has meant that typically only large companies and wealthy institutions can gain access. This both centralises the technology and means most advancements and applications serve corporate interests, which I felt might not be to the benefit of everyone.
This realisation led me to launch NetMind.AI, in order to provide decentralised computational power by harnessing idle global GPUs, which makes AI more accessible and affordable for everyone. In addition, we also needed this computational power ourselves for our own research and development.
Tell us about the business – what it is, what it aims to achieve, who you work with, how you reach customers and so on?
NetMind.AI is a computing platform and integrates AI with Web3 to create a diverse decentralised AI ecosystem. Although we have a lot of great products, our core business revolves around one flagship product, NetMind Power. NetMind Power is an advanced distributed computing platform that leverages idle global GPU resources (while rewarding those who loan it) to allow accessible and affordable AI computing for individuals and small businesses, decentralising its usage.
In terms of who collaborate with, we have a variety of fantastic partners who enhance our ecosystem. For example, we have strategic partnerships with innovative AI companies like Haiper AI, Autoedge and Orbit, which utilise our computing resources to accelerate their product development. We also work with top academic institutions such as Tsinghua University, University of Cambridge, and Rice University on cutting-edge AI research projects. Our reach to customers is facilitated through these partnerships as well as our online platforms, social groups and Web 3 community engagement – making our AI tools accessible to a broad and varied audience.
How has the business evolved since its launch?
I started working on NetMind in 2021, but our official launch was in mid 2023. In the year since we launched, NetMind.AI has evolved significantly. We started as a research-driven company and have since transitioned to also include a product-focused approach. Our flagship product, NetMind Power, has expanded to include a GPU rental platform, a model training platform and an inference platform. We’ve also grown our partnerships and user base, constantly iterating on our offerings to better meet customer needs.
Tell us about the working culture at NetMind
Our working culture at NetMind is very research-driven and encourages both exploration and innovation. We support multiple research projects that align with our team's strengths and embrace a fast-paced environment where trial and error is just part of the learning process! I feel the NetMind culture also values enthusiasm, strong learning abilities, and quick adaptability, and that’s what everyone on the team has in abundance. I’m really glad to be working with such great individuals.
How are you funded?
NetMind.AI is self-funded right now, which allows us to maintain full control over our vision and operations.
What has been your biggest challenge so far and how have you overcome this?
I would say probably transitioning from a purely research-driven to a product-driven company. This shift required aligning our focus and understanding customer needs deeply. We have invested significant time in understanding our users and achieving product-market fit, and we are continuously improving in this area to ensure our products constantly meet market demands.
How does NetMind answer an unmet need?
I feel we uniquely address the high cost and accessibility barriers in AI by lowering the threshold for AI development and providing decentralised computing power. This approach reduces costs and makes AI more democratised, secure, and trustworthy for everyone, not just high value companies. We’re effectively ensuring that even small enterprises and individual developers can access powerful AI tools without really prohibitive expenses.
What’s in store for the future?
We plan to expand our computing power network and enhance our services to provide even better products. Our R&D team is working on developing a decentralised environment for large language models (LLM) and continuously iterating to improve them. We’re also building an AI agent platform, NetMind XYZ, to allow users to create AI agents without coding, which – while benefiting them – also adds further value to our ecosystem and makes AI development even more accessible.
What one piece of advice would you give other founders or future founders?
It's quite hard to choose just one piece of advice, but I would say it's important to stay focused on understanding your customers and align your product development to meet their specific needs. Don't be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them quickly to build products that have value.
And finally, a more personal question! What’s your daily routine and the rules you’re living by at the moment?
I start my day with a cup of coffee, spend time thinking, and then dive into meetings. I live by the saying,但行好事莫问前程 an old chinese saying that means 'work for a good cause without asking about the future.' It reminds me to focus on making a positive impact and let the outcomes take care of themselves!
Kai Zou is the founder and CEO of NetMind.
