Solana integrates AI into blockchain, raises grants fund to $10M

On May 23, the Solana Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to maintaining and developing the layer-1 Solana blockchain, announced that it has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) using a ChatGPT plugin developed by Solana Labs.

As told by developers, the ChatGPT plugin is available for download from GitHub and will “make it easier to understand Solana data and protocols, or surface data about Solana’s computing infrastructure and DeFi projects.”

Current functions for the plugin include purchasing nonfungible tokens (NFTs), transferring tokens, inspecting transactions, interpreting public account data and finding NFT collections by floor price on Solana.

“Every developer building consumer-oriented apps should be thinking about how their app is going to be interacted with through an AI model because this is a new paradigm for telling computers what to do,” said Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

The Solana Foundation also announced it would increase funding for grants exploring the intersection of the Solana blockchain and AI to $10 million from its original pledge of $1 million. Developers said that the rolling grants program has already received 50 applications.

In addition, the Solana Foundation has kicked off a three-month-long accelerator program for university students, a full cohort experimenting with blockchain and AI. “The program received hundreds of applications from projects and contributors, and the AI cohort has already resulted in an ask Solana U chatbot,” developers wrote.

Within its ecosystem, Hivemapper launched AI Trainers last month that convert real-world imagery into high-quality digital maps with details covering speed limits, warning signs and other street-related information. Since then, Solana developers claim that protocol contributors have initiated 5.7 million AI training reviews, with 500,000 objects achieving consensus.

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