When AI model parameters break through the hundred billion level, data as 'new oil' has its value infinitely amplified. High-quality data models become smarter but fall into the triple dilemma of 'ambiguous ownership, imbalanced distribution, and inefficient circulation.' SaharaLabsAI provides a systematic solution, referred to as the 'Web3 Operating System of the AI Era.'
SaharaLabsAI's public offering round can KYC in most regions on Buidlpad, and I have already decided to participate. You can decide whether to join after reading the following.
Key Points of this Article
Vision: SaharaLabsAI aims to build an AI-native Layer 1 blockchain to solve issues of data ownership, value distribution, and governance transparency, positioning itself as the 'Web3 Operating System' of the AI era.
Core Advantages: Led by AI and Web3 experts, raised $51.5 million in investment, partnered with Microsoft, Amazon, etc., and boasts impressive testnet data (3.2 million accounts, 1.4 million daily active users).
Product Ecosystem: Includes Data Service Platform (DSP), AI Development Platform, AI Marketplace, and Knowledge Agents. The testnet is set to launch in May 2025, with the mainnet expected in Q2/Q3 2025.
$SAHARA token is used for governance, fees, and staking, with a public offering valuation of $600 million and 100% token unlock at TGE.
Controversy: The last round valuation was $400 million. Initiating a pre-issue of $600 million on Buidlpad, while a bit high for the current market valuation, is still worth participating in. There is a KYC threshold. The last project to do this was Solayer, which returned close to 10 times, while SaharaLabsAI's initial high valuation is expected to be around 3-5 times.
#AIforall
I. Sahara's Positioning and Core Value
AI is reshaping the world, but Web3 still lacks a set of underlying infrastructure designed for it. What Sahara is building is the Web3 Operating System of the AI era.
The project emphasizes a 'full-chain closed loop,' meaning that the entire process from data contribution, model execution to incentive distribution is realized on-chain, ensuring the ownership, transparency, and tradability of data and model assets, truly activating the supply chain and ecology of AI.
II. Technical Architecture and Product Matrix
Technical Architecture
- Sahara Chain: Self-developed EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, specially designed for AI scenarios, supporting on-chain registration, ownership confirmation, and monetization of AI datasets, models, and agents.
- AI Execution Protocol: An off-chain execution system responsible for the creation, operation, and management of AI agents. It generates verifiable execution proofs in a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and uploads them on-chain to ensure the authenticity and transparency of execution results.
Product Matrix
Built a product matrix covering the entire AI lifecycle, from data to applications and then to value monetization, forming a self-reinforcing closed-loop system.
- Data Service Platform (DSP): Users contribute high-quality data through data labeling, prompt creation, etc., and receive on-chain incentives. The public beta is set to launch in May 2025, with 4 million wallets on the waiting list, 92,500 daily active users, and generating 8.2 million effective data points.
- AI Developer Platform (Sahara AI Studio): Integrates SDK, API, and no-code tools, lowering the barriers to building and deploying AI models, supporting developers to quickly launch products.
- AI Marketplace: Expected to launch in Q3/Q4 2025, a decentralized AI asset market supporting the registration, trading, and authorization of models, datasets, and agents, enabling the circulation and monetization of AI assets.
- Knowledge Agents (KAs): Deploy interactive autonomous AI applications.
This closed-loop system ensures that data contributors, model developers, and application users can all receive incentives and returns within the ecosystem, forming a sustainably developing positive flywheel.
III. Sahara Public Offering Information and Economic Model
Conduct TGE in the form of community fundraising, where everyone's initial cost is the same, and there is no selling pressure in the early stages; however, there is a certain threshold for participation.
Fundraising Information
Hard Cap: $8.5 million
Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV): $600 million
Participation Platform: Buidlpad
Release Mechanism: 100% unlocked at the Token Generation Event (TGE)
Individual Quota: $50~$3000, supports USD1 and BNB
Community Share: 1.4167% of total supply (total supply of 1 billion tokens, meaning this sale includes 14,167,000 tokens)
Participation Requirements: KYC verification is required
Time:
KYC Verification: June 8, 23:00 - June 11, 22:59
Subscription Phase: June 10, 11:00 - June 11, 22:59
Payment Phase: June 14, 23:00 - June 15, 22:59
A similar project is Solayer, which had a public offering valuation of $350 million and close to 10 times return. Sahara's initial valuation is expected to be around 3 times.
The economic model is composed of an AI+Web3 growth flywheel.
The AI growth flywheel focuses on improving model quality by attracting data providers, thereby increasing service demand and generating revenue, incentivizing more AI developers to participate. The business has already accumulated tens of millions in revenue.
The Web3 growth flywheel focuses on integrating AI models with smart contracts and DeFi protocols to increase on-chain transactions, enhancing the utility of the Sahara chain, thereby attracting more validators and nodes to participate.
The key lies in how AI growth (which may partially occur off-chain or based on proprietary models) can effectively translate into Web3 adoption (on-chain activities and the value capture of Sahara L1 and its tokens).
IV. Sahara Team and Financing Situation
The founding team has a deep background in AI and Web3. Founder Sean Ren is an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Southern California, and co-founder Tyler Zhou previously served as an investment director at Binance Labs, possessing rich industry resources and technical strength.
Sahara has raised over $51.5 million, with investors including Pantera Capital, YZi Labs (Binance Labs), and Sequoia Capital.
Strategic Partnerships: Sahara has served over forty enterprise clients, including Microsoft, Amazon, MIT, and has over 200,000 global AI trainers, with cumulative revenue reaching tens of millions.
User Data: SIWA testnet shows strong user engagement, with over 3.2 million on-chain accounts and 1.4 million daily active users (DAU). The Data Service Platform (DSP) attracts over 200,000 users.
In summary, SaharaLabsAI is a future-oriented infrastructure project aimed at the deep integration of AI and Web3, emphasizing full-chain support from underlying chain-level protocols to application ecosystems. It is a core project worth focusing on in the Web3 AI direction and is currently the hottest project on Buidlpad, with limited circulation in the early public offering round, resulting in no significant selling pressure, making it still worth participating in.