0G is the trust layer for AI — combining private compute, encrypted storage and an AI-native EVM Layer 1 chain in a single stack, so that every AI action can be verified and audited. Founded in 2024 by Michael Heinrich, Ming Wu, Fan Long and Thomas Yao, 0G (short for Zero Gravity) set out to solve a problem the team saw blocking on-chain AI entirely: the missing data availability, storage and compute infrastructure needed to make AI genuinely decentralised, transparent and verifiable rather than locked inside closed, centralised systems.

The company’s funding trajectory has been remarkable: a $35 million pre-seed in 2024 — one of the largest on record — followed by $290 million in total financing comprising a $40 million seed round and a $250 million liquid capital line, at a valuation exceeding $2 billion. Backers include Hack VC, Delphi Digital, OKX Ventures, Samsung Next, Animoca Brands, Bankless Ventures, Stanford Blockchain Fund, Polygon, GSR and Adventure. Its research credentials are unusual for a Web3 company, with peer-reviewed papers at ICML, ICCV, CIKM and FSE co-authored with Microsoft Research, Peking University, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. Today the network reports over 309 billion private AI tokens consumed, 29 million+ transactions, 42.9 million blocks produced, 5.5 million accounts and 250+ ecosystem partners, with collaborators and partners including Microsoft, Google, Alibaba Cloud, Stanford, Stripe, Binance, Coinbase, BitGo, NTT and Square Enix. Its modular AI stack spans infrastructure, execution and developer experience through to agents, alignment, machine-economy finance primitives and Physical AI for robots, drones and humanoids — with an accelerator and Ecosystem Growth Fund supporting builders worldwide, including in emerging markets like Africa where verifiable, low-cost AI infrastructure has clear relevance.

ATSNBO 2026