Project Analysis of Aethir, Decentralized Cloud gaming & AI Platform

TL;DR

Background: GPUs have become a crucial and rapidly expanding part of the global tech market. With the flourishing development of artificial intelligence, the demand for high-performance GPUs has surged far beyond supply. This growing demand for GPUs is crucial for the development and operation of artificial intelligence, resulting in a significant supply shortage that affects cost and availability. Despite the high demand, this shortage has posed challenges in procurement, impacting various industries reliant on these technologies (such as artificial intelligence, gaming, IoT, etc.). While the industry is experiencing strong growth, market signals indicate that progress in these sectors may slow down if this issue is not addressed. These overall trends have sparked widespread discussions on the significant impact on major AI advancements and semiconductor industry capabilities. In particular, the exponential growth rate of Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT contrasts with the linear progress of GPU chipsets. Given these circumstances, along with the geopolitical importance of Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturing, finding alternative solutions to address the shortage of computing resources and continue supporting industries like artificial intelligence and gaming that rely on GPUs for expansion is crucial.

Aethir Introduction: Aethir introduces a groundbreaking solution to tackle a complex global challenge. Our network aggregates and intelligently redistributes both new and underutilized GPUs from various sources including enterprises, data centers, cryptocurrency mining operations, and consumers. In the US alone, where data centers typically utilize only 10-15% of their GPU capacity, there’s a vast market opportunity for improving GPU allocation. Aethir’s solution offers increased access to existing GPU supplies, mitigates investment risks, and significantly enhances global GPU computing availability by over 10 times. Designed as a cloud platform on a distributed GPU framework, Aethir caters to the demanding processing needs of industries like gaming and AI model training. By seamlessly integrating diverse GPU clusters into a unified network, Aethir enhances cluster size, reliability, and infrastructure flexibility, making it an optimal choice for handling large-scale AI workloads dispersed across different geographical regions. Aethir’s commitment to decentralization extends beyond ownership to its geographically distributed infrastructure, ensuring broader accessibility and laying the groundwork for the evolution of the GPU cloud. Essentially, Aethir represents a paradigm shift in computing resource allocation, driven by principles like decentralized ownership, cross-cluster collaboration, and scalable regional deployment. This not only transforms the cloud computing landscape but also fosters a more interconnected, efficient, and innovative global GPU cloud economy. Aethir’s Distributed Compute Infrastructure (DCI) stands out by focusing on utilizing existing idle resources instead of requiring participants to invest in new hardware. With estimates suggesting that 50-75% of GPU capacity remains underutilized, Aethir DCI targets small to medium-sized data centers and enterprises to tap into this abundant resource pool.

Aethir Network

The Aethir network operates through five key roles: miners, developers, users, token holders, and Aethir DAO. Miners are categorized into three types: containers, checkers, and indexers. Together, these roles ensure network agreement and efficient rendering services. At the heart of the network lies the ATH token, incentivizing user engagement, fostering diverse application development within the ecosystem, and expanding our user base. This dynamic fosters a self-sustaining cycle, encouraging continuous growth and development. Architectural Design The Aethir network integrates three pivotal roles to support its functioning: containers, indexers, and checkers. Containers play a vital role in delivering real-time remote rendering services, crucial for achieving a seamless cloud experience. Indexers facilitate user connections to the most suitable containers, ensuring optimal application performance. Checkers play a critical role in assessing container performance and service quality, ensuring reliable and efficient operations. Layer 2 Arbitrum Network The Layer 2 Arbitrum network serves as the backbone of the Aethir ecosystem, offering a decentralized settlement layer that enhances user experience through the ATH token. It efficiently records transaction data, addressing key blockchain challenges like scalability, transaction speed, and high fees. As blockchain technology progresses, Aethir is poised to expand these capabilities within a fully decentralized framework.

Indexer Role

Indexers play a crucial role within the Aethir network, facilitating the seamless pairing of consumers with suitable containers to ensure swift deployment of cloud applications and services. Their aim is to deliver “instant-on” services - swiftly transforming consumer requests into actionable outcomes (e.g., a player’s action request in a game screen). Achieving this requires streamlined signal delivery and efficient scheduling. Key scheduling considerations include: Container Status: Containers must be on standby. Service Deployment: Containers should come pre-equipped with required cloud services. Resource Requirements: Container specifications must match the hardware and network needs of cloud services. Latency: Containers should be located within acceptable distance limits to consumers or enterprises to minimize delays. Service Costs: Container expenses should align with developers’ budgets. Selection Criteria: Indexers prioritize containers based on factors like minimal service costs, optimal user experience, or overall performance excellence. Decentralization and Fraud Prevention: Indexers are randomly selected to maintain decentralization and enhance user trust. This approach mitigates potential fraud risks and minimizes delays caused by protocol complexity.

Checker Role

Checkers ensure the integrity and performance of containers within the Aethir network. Validating container specifications provided by suppliers is vital for upholding Quality of Service (QoS) standards across the network. The checking process involves: Registration: Verifying containers’ registration on the Aethir network. Standby Status: Random inspections of containers in standby mode. During Rendering: Evaluating service data to assess real-time performance. Check Results: Registration Validation: Confirming container specs and successful registration. Scheduling Impact: Influencing container scheduling opportunities and priorities for indexers. Quality Control: Enforcing penalties for subpar service quality. Checking Methods: Performance Metrics: Directly assessing container performance metrics. Simulation Testing: Simulating user interactions to ensure applications meet specified requirements. Checker Deployment: Initially managed by Aethir with plans for gradual decentralization.

Container Operation Principles

Containers operate within various states, dictating their functionality within our network: 1. Configuring: New containers await setup instructions. This phase involves configuring settings and information. 2. Waiting for Inspection: Containers await checkers’ confirmation after setup. 3. Inspected and Ready: Approved containers are ready for network use. 4. Requiring Re-inspection: Containers undergo re-evaluation if issues arise. 5. Connected and Healthy: Containers demonstrate connectivity and functionality, akin to a regular heartbeat indicating activity. 6. Maintenance Lock: Occasionally, containers require maintenance or upgrades, rendering them temporarily unavailable. 7. Quality Control: Ongoing monitoring ensures containers meet performance standards, with checks and repairs conducted as needed.

Rendering Verification

In contrast to conventional blockchain setups, the Aethir network operates uniquely. Here, nodes (think of them as independent contributors) handle two key tasks: Rendering Capacity Validation: At 15-minute intervals, a random subset of these contributors is chosen to verify transactions (similar to conducting quality checks). The more they invest (in tokens), the higher their service quality, and the fewer times they’ve been chosen previously, the greater their chances of selection. Project Metrics: Presently, the network boasts 200,000 users, 40,000 GPUs, $1.8 million in USD payments received, and 2.5 million tATH tokens paid out.

1. Currently there are 200,000 fans on Twitter and 60,000 on discord.

Team situation:CEO mark seems to have a relatively general introduction. COO daniel wang holds positions in IVC (Partner), YGG E2 (Chief Information Officer), Riot Games (Head of International Publishing) and Riot Games China (Chief Operating Officer). Dan is a seasoned leader with deep expertise in the gaming and Web3 industries. CTO Kyle has previously served as Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Ericsson’s IoT, Automotive, and Security Business, CEO of Edge Gravity, and Chief Network Officer at Verizon Media.

Financing Status: Aethir has secured a pre-Series A financing round totaling $150 million. Tokenomics of Aethir: The heart of the Aethir ecosystem lies in its ATH token, which serves as a versatile asset utilized not just for transactions, but also for governance, incentives, and platform expansion. A total of 42 billion tokens will be issued, with the allocation as follows: 15% for the team, 15% for private sales, 50% for mining rewards, 17.5% for the DAO Foundation, and 4% for liquidity.

In summary, this project hasn’t launched yet and operates in GPU leasing, focusing on cloud gaming. It’s similar to RNDR, AKT, Clore, and others. The concept of cloud gaming has been around for many years, but its impact has been limited. However, with the recent hype around DePIN, interest in such projects has increased. This project actually started in 2022 and has been in development for two years, progressing slowly. The token has not been launched yet. Currently, in terms of fan base, it seems promising, and it appears to be on track in its respective sector. With the AI era upon us, demanding significant computational power, projects like this are worth keeping an eye on. It’s recommended to check out NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s GTC conference for further insights. Therefore, it’s worth paying attention to this project. Currently, the only way to mine in the project is by purchasing nodes; there are no other earning methods available.

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1. 本文转载自[书中自有大饼屋]，著作权归属原作者[朱老师321]，如对转载有异议，请联系Gate Learn团队，团队会根据相关流程尽速处理。
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