Every image and piece of code you generate with ChatGPT profits end up in OpenAI's pocket. You contribute prompts, provide feedback, and supply usage data. And then? You are the user, they are the shareholders.

DeepNode @DeepNodeAI wants to shake things up.

This project just secured $5 million in funding to build a decentralized AI network. The core logic is: contribute models, computing power, or data, and earn $DN tokens as profit sharing. Every time your model is called, you get paid. The model remains yours, minted as an NFT on the blockchain, with clear IP ownership.

Technically, they developed a mechanism called PoWR (Proof-of-Work Relevance), which translates to "Work must be useful to get paid." Unlike traditional mining where idle hash power still yields rewards, in DeepNode, your inference tasks must pass verification and generate actual value to be settled.

Early data is quite impressive—DIVE event registered 25,000 users within hours of launch, now exceeding 90,000. Discord gained 40,000 members in a week.

However, I personally worry that the decentralized AI narrative has been shouted for years, and few projects have truly succeeded. Questions remain about whether the verification mechanism is resistant to attacks and whether model quality can surpass that of centralized giants.

Q1 2026 testnet, those interested can first claim 150 points and wait.