Agenda
🧠 Solana AI – Introduction
🧠 The Vision of Solana AI
️ Why Solana is Well-Positioned for AI
🤖 AI Projects on Solana
📊 How to Analyze Solana AI Activity Using Dune – A Builder's Guide
🚀 Predictions & Closing Thoughts
📚 References
🧠 Solana AI – Introduction
Crypto and AI are the two most disruptive technologies of the decade—and now they’re converging.
While Ethereum has long dominated smart contracts, a new frontier is forming on Solana, where blazing-fast block times and ultra-low fees make it possible to build AI-powered applications that are not just theoretical, but usable in the real world.
From decentralized GPU networks to autonomous agents and onchain inference, an emerging wave of builders is turning Solana into the base layer for AI innovation.
In this article, we’ll analyze Solana’s AI ecosystem using a Dune dashboard. We’ll explore:
Which AI protocols are gaining real usage?
How are tokens used to incentivize compute and data?
Where is the onchain AI economy headed next?
Whether you’re an AI researcher, crypto investor, or curious builder, this deep dive will help you make sense of the next wave of Solana-native intelligence.
🧠 The Vision of Solana AI
As artificial intelligence (AI) evolves, developers are beginning to realize the limitations of centralized infrastructure when deploying and monetizing AI at scale. Most AI systems today rely on closed platforms—where inference, training, and data usage are dictated by a few major companies. But what if AI could be decentralized, open, and verifiable?
That’s where Solana AI comes in.
Solana AI refers to a growing category of decentralized applications (dApps) and infrastructure protocols on the Solana blockchain that integrate artificial intelligence. These use cases include:
Onchain AI agents: Smart contracts or bots that interact with users, markets, or other contracts using language models.
Decentralized compute networks: GPU marketplaces where anyone can rent or offer compute for model inference and training (e.g., io.net).
Autonomous infrastructure: CI/CD platforms like Nosana that use token incentives to automate DevOps for AI models.
Decentralized rendering: AI-assisted art and rendering with networks like Render migrating to Solana.
Data sourcing and AI tooling: Protocols like Grass that harvest real-time web data to train LLMs in a decentralized way.
Solana’s speed and low costs are key here. Unlike Ethereum, which often struggles with latency and fees, Solana enables real-time, high-frequency interactions—crucial for anything involving inference, streaming, or autonomous AI behavior.
As the crypto space moves toward more intelligent dApps—autonomous agents, AI-enhanced trading, decentralized compute, and trustless data—Solana is quickly becoming the chain where these things can actually function at scale.
️ Why Solana is Well-Positioned for AI
If you're building decentralized AI apps, choosing the right blockchain infrastructure is crucial. You need something fast, scalable, and cost-effective—qualities that set Solana apart from most other chains.
1. Ultra-Low Latency and High Throughput
Solana’s architecture enables 400–700 millisecond block times and consistently processes thousands of transactions per second (TPS). For AI agents or compute networks where speed matters—like real-time inference, automated trading, or data streaming—this is a game-changer.
AI workloads don’t just need execution—they need fast confirmation and low-cost state changes. Solana’s sub-cent transaction fees allow models and agents to run affordably onchain, even at high frequency.
📊 For example, an AI agent issuing hundreds of microtransactions per day (e.g., fetching data, making predictions, triggering trades) would be cost-prohibitive on Ethereum. On Solana, this can happen for less than a dollar.
2. Composable and Parallel Runtime (Sealevel)
Unlike most blockchains with a single-threaded execution model, Solana’s Sealevel runtime enables smart contracts to execute in parallel. This unlocks scalable AI coordination, such as multiple agents interacting with data feeds or compute requests simultaneously without bottlenecks.
This means an AI protocol can:
Serve multiple user queries in parallel
Match GPU renters and buyers at scale
Automate workflows across onchain accounts
3. Developer-Friendly Tooling
Solana has steadily evolved its dev ecosystem:
Solana Labs x Jump’s Firedancer validator: improving scalability and throughput
Solana Mobile Stack (SMS): allows mobile-native AI tools and agents
Anchor framework: streamlines smart contract development for AI-integrated apps
These tools empower developers to integrate AI with crypto without reinventing the wheel.
4. Ecosystem Support
Solana’s community is actively funding and accelerating AI-native protocols. Grants, hackathons (like those from Superteam), and investment arms like Solana Ventures are prioritizing AI + DePIN + consumer products. io.net, Nosana, and others have received major ecosystem backing.
In short, Solana isn’t just technically capable—it’s strategically focused on becoming a hub for AI-native infrastructure.
🤖 AI Projects on Solana
The Solana AI ecosystem is still early—but growing fast. Several protocols are actively building decentralized infrastructure for training models, sourcing data, deploying inference, and automating workflows. These projects highlight the versatility of Solana as a real-time coordination layer for AI-powered applications.
Below, we dive into the three most promising AI-native protocols building on Solana: io.net, Nosana, and Render.
🧠 4.1 — io.net: Decentralized GPU Compute
io.net is a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) focused on making GPU compute accessible and affordable. It aggregates underutilized compute from data centers, crypto miners, and individuals—then rents it out to users building AI, machine learning, and HPC applications.
Why it matters: AI developers often face high costs and GPU shortages when using centralized providers. io.net offers a decentralized alternative that scales globally.
Key Features:
Rent or offer GPU power on-demand
Supports AI training and inference workloads
Token-based incentives for compute providers and clients
What to track on Dune:
Wallet interactions with io.net smart contracts
Volume of GPU rental requests onchain
Tokenomics once $IO is live (transfers, staking, incentives)
Daily active wallets
io.net recently surpassed 15,000 connected GPUs, signaling massive early traction and interest from both supply and demand sides of the network.
🛠 4.2 — Nosana: Decentralized CI/CD for AI Models
Nosana brings AI model deployment and DevOps infrastructure onchain. It offers a decentralized continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) network that lets AI developers test, build, and ship code via community-run worker nodes.
Why it matters: Deploying machine learning models at scale requires reliable pipelines. Nosana turns this into a permissionless, token-incentivized network.
Key Features:
Solana-native CI/CD execution layer
Decentralized job runners
$NOS token for staking, governance, and job payments
Integration with GitHub and common ML tools
What to track on Dune:
Unique wallet activity per day/week
Distribution of $NOS across holders
Number and value of jobs processed
Top function calls (e.g., submitJob, claimReward)
Nosana is positioning itself as the GitHub Actions of Web3—only faster, cheaper, and open.
🎨 4.3 — Render Network: Decentralized AI Rendering
Render (RNDR) powers decentralized rendering for 3D visuals, AI art, and video compute. After launching on Ethereum, Render migrated core infrastructure to Solana in 2023 to benefit from its high speed and low fees.
Why it matters: Generative AI is increasingly visual, and rendering remains one of the most GPU-intensive tasks. Render enables creators to access GPU power in a decentralized, scalable way.
Key Features:
Peer-to-peer GPU rendering marketplace
AI art, CGI, and visual media rendering
$RNDR token as payment, migrated to Solana via bridge
What to track on Dune:
Bridged RNDR inflows to Solana
Wallets interacting with Render contracts
RNDR usage tied to jobs or rendering sessions
Pre/post migration comparison of activity
Render demonstrates how real-world compute networks can scale more effectively on Solana—especially as AI-generated media demand surges.
⚗ Optional Mentions – AI-Adjacent Protocols
Other AI-related or adjacent protocols on Solana worth tracking include:
Grass: A decentralized data harvesting protocol used to train LLMs
Arkham: AI agent-based analytics and doxxing (though more focused on identity than inference)
Realms and DAOs: Using AI agents for autonomous governance or treasury allocation (a developing area)
As tooling for onchain agents, model inference, and real-time decision-making evolves, we expect even more AI-native protocols to emerge on Solana in the coming months.
📊 How to Analyze Solana AI Activity Using Dune – A Dashboard Builder's Guide
In this section, we'll walk through how to analyze AI projects on Solana using Dune, including how to query onchain activity, build charts, and interpret key metrics. Whether you're a Dune beginner or a data-savvy builder, this guide will show you how to start tracking real activity across Solana-based AI protocols like Nosana, Render, and io.net.
🧰 Step 1: Setting Up Your Dune Environment
Visit Dune.com and log in with your Ethereum wallet or email.
From the homepage, click “New Query” to open the SQL editor.
Set the chain to “Solana” using the data explorer.
Dune provides indexed Solana tables like:
solana.transactionssolana.token_transferssolana.accountssolana.instruction_calls
These are essential when analyzing protocol usage and token activity.
🔍 Step 2: Identifying Key AI Protocols on Solana
Let’s focus on three AI-centric protocols:
Nosana: GPU-based decentralized compute network
Render: Decentralized rendering protocol recently migrated to Solana
io.net: AI-focused compute infrastructure for training/inference workloads
You'll need to locate their program IDs or token addresses to query relevant onchain activity. These can usually be found on the project’s documentation or block explorers like SolanaFM or Solscan.
Step 3: Query Wallet Growth & Unique Users
To track user adoption:
This helps you monitor how many unique wallets interact with the AI protocol daily.
💸 Step 4: Analyze Token Activity (Transfers, Volume, Holders)
Example query for token transfers:
Want to count current holders? Use:
These queries help evaluate token distribution and activity levels, critical indicators of project traction.
🧠 Step 5: Map AI + DePIN Protocol Trends
Many Solana AI projects intersect with DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks). To explore this:
Compare GPU compute-related protocols
Track program interactions across multiple DePIN projects
Analyze average gas fees or compute usage
This gives a side-by-side view of DePIN-AI adoption over time.
🧪 Step 6: Build Dashboards with Rich Visuals
Once you've written your queries:
Click “New Dashboard”
Add visualizations (bar charts, line charts, area graphs)
Add titles and descriptions
Pin relevant queries to make it interactive
Make your dashboards public so others can follow your research. You can also embed them into blog posts or tweet threads for maximum visibility.
With these tools and queries, you’re now equipped to build Dune dashboards that track Solana’s AI economy in real-time.
🚀 Predictions & Closing Thoughts
Solana’s AI ecosystem is still in its infancy, but the momentum is unmistakable.
What started as isolated efforts to decentralize compute (like io.net), optimize DevOps (Nosana), and democratize GPU rendering (Render) is quickly turning into an emergent AI coordination layer—powered by Solana’s low-cost, high-speed, and parallelized runtime.
🔮 What’s Next for AI on Solana?
Here’s what we predict will define the next phase of Solana AI:
1. Tokenized AI Supply Chains
As seen with io.net and Render, Solana enables onchain pricing, usage tracking, and payment for compute. We’ll see:
Tokenized access to GPU/TPU nodes
Open markets for ML inference jobs
Reward models for contributors of compute, data, and models
2. AI Agents Onchain
Autonomous agents are already in early experimentation—think:
Bots running DAOs, liquidity strategies, or governance votes
LLMs querying onchain data, submitting txs, and reacting to market state
Solana’s composability and high throughput makes it ideal for hosting AI agents that require fast, reactive decision loops.
3. DePIN x AI Will Be a Dominant Meta
The convergence of decentralized infrastructure and AI is more than a trend—it’s the next major primitive. Solana is emerging as the home for this:
GPU DePIN (io.net, Nosana)
Storage (Shadow Drive, Arweave)
Bandwidth and networking (Helium)
In short: Solana is becoming the infrastructure of infrastructure for AI.
🧠 Final Thoughts
While Ethereum paved the way for decentralized finance, Solana is quietly building the rails for decentralized intelligence.
With real-time block finality, affordable fees, and a rapidly growing ecosystem of builders, Solana provides the ideal sandbox for AI-native primitives—especially those that can’t afford to be bottlenecked by L2s, gas fees, or state bloat.
As AI continues to eat the world, Solana may be where it learns to coordinate itself.
Explore the dashboards, follow the data, and watch this space—because the next major AI unlock might just be onchain.
📚 References:
Nosana: https://nosana.io/
Render migration: https://renderfoundation.com/
Grass AI data collection: https://www.grass.io/
Solana performance overview: https://solana.com/news/solana-vs-ethereum
Solana Performance Benchmarks: https://solana.com/news/performance-update
Sealevel Runtime: https://docs.solana.com/developing/runtime-overview
Firedancer by Jump Crypto: https://jumpcrypto.com/firedancer/
Anchor Framework: https://book.anchor-lang.com/
Superteam AI Bounties:https://earn.superteam.fun/
Binance Launchpool $IO: https://www.binance.com/en/feed/post/26241007
Nosana: https://nosana.io
RNDR migration: https://renderfoundation.com/
Grass Protocol: https://www.grass.io
Solana token explorer (Nosana):https://solscan.io
