Polyhedra, the company behind EXPchain's zero-knowledge infrastructure, and Aethir, a decentralized GPU cloud compute provider, have launched a joint incubator program. This initiative aims to accelerate the development of verifiable AI applications by providing early-stage teams with grants, scalable compute access, and transparent infrastructure.
Polyhedra, the zero-knowledge infrastructure company behind EXPchain, and Aethir, a leading decentralized GPU cloud compute provider, have announced a collaborative incubator program. This joint effort is designed to expedite the development of verifiable AI applications across enterprise, research, and open-source domains. By combining scalable compute resources with transparent infrastructure, the program seeks to support early-stage teams in building production-ready AI solutions.
The rapid growth in AI development has led to a surge in startup activity and funding. However, many startups still encounter significant challenges, including limited access to necessary compute power and a lack of verifiable infrastructure for both model training and deployment. The joint incubator program by Polyhedra and Aethir directly addresses these bottlenecks by offering a comprehensive pathway from initial concept to full production.
The incubator participants will benefit from a full-stack solution provided through the partnership. Projects will commence utilizing Polyhedra's zero-knowledge toolkits and on-chain verification infrastructure, leveraging EXPchain, a Layer 1 chain specifically designed for AI-native applications and verifiable compute. Subsequently, these projects can scale their operations using Aethir's decentralized GPU cloud for inference, fine-tuning, and eventual launch. This unified environment allows startups to develop, test, and deploy their applications within the same infrastructure they will use for long-term operation, thereby eliminating common scaling challenges and accelerating progress in high-integrity use cases where compliance, trust, and model integrity are paramount.
Bart Meyer, chief ecosystem officer of Polyhedra, emphasized the program's comprehensive support, stating, "AI developers face real challenges today in accessing scalable compute and reliable infrastructure. By joining forces with Aethir, we're offering a full-stack solution, from high-performance GPU compute to verifiable AI tooling, so teams can go from idea to enterprise-ready frictionlessly." Participants in the incubator program will receive non-dilutive grants from Polyhedra, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. Additionally, they will gain access to technical integration and developer tooling on EXPchain. Through Aethir's $100 million Ecosystem Fund, teams will also receive subsidized access to GPU compute credits valued at up to $100,000 per team. This will enable developers to scale their AI workloads in both testnet and mainnet environments without reliance on centralized dependencies.
Mark Rydon, CSO of Aethir, highlighted the strategic alignment of the partnership, stating, "Our mission has always been to decentralize and democratize access to compute. Partnering with Polyhedra brings a crucial layer of verifiability and interoperability to the Aethir ecosystem, where together, we're enabling the future of provable AI." Applications for the joint incubator are now open and can be submitted through each partner's respective website. The selection process will involve multiple stages, including an initial assessment, interviews, a joint grant proposal, and final approval. The evaluation criteria will focus on technical feasibility, infrastructure requirements (particularly for compute and zero-knowledge technologies), and alignment with the ecosystem's overarching goals.
Polyhedra is building foundational infrastructure for trust and scalability in AI and blockchain systems, enabling secure, verifiable, and high-performance applications. Led by a world-class team of engineers, researchers, and business leaders from institutions including UC Berkeley, Stanford, and Tsinghua University, Polyhedra's deep expertise in zero-knowledge proofs and distributed systems underpins the development of our technical solutions that will help form the AI infrastructure of the future.
Aethir is the world's largest decentralized cloud GPU network, with over 425,000 enterprise-grade GPUs across 95 countries. The platform provides scalable, cost-efficient cloud GPU services for AI, machine learning, gaming, and rendering applications, connecting users to distributed resources through a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN). By making high-performance computing more accessible and efficient, Aethir is transforming how AI and enterprise applications are powered.
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