NTU Singapore Unveils $3.84M Blockchain–AI Hub to Drive Transparency
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore has joined forces with blockchain innovator Zero Gravity (0G) to launch a $3.84 million.
Quick overview
- Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has partnered with blockchain innovator Zero Gravity to establish a $3.84 million research hub focused on transparent AI systems.
- The initiative aims to promote honesty and trust in AI by developing open systems that allow for public scrutiny, contrasting with proprietary models from private companies.
- Research will explore decentralized AI approaches, including decentralized computing and blockchain for model alignment, while also creating AI marketplaces for data sharing.
- The four-year program will involve workshops and scholarships to cultivate next-gen AI talent in Asia, with a goal of setting a new global standard for open and transparent AI.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore has joined forces with blockchain innovator Zero Gravity (0G) to launch a $3.84 million research hub focused on building better, more transparent AI systems, and this time, they’re using blockchain. The partnership is a big deal for 0G—it’s their first-ever global collab with a university, and it’s going to focus on integrating blockchain with AI, training AI models in a more open and less sinister way, and figuring out how to ensure AI systems earn their keep.
This project aims to promote greater honesty and trust in AI. While loads of private companies are busy building proprietary AI models that are shut off from public scrutiny, this NTU/0G initiative is all about developing systems that are more open and that people can trust.
Just to put some perspective on this, 0G has just raised a whacking great pile of cash – over US$325 million, including a $40 million seed round that got some big names on board (Hack VC, Delphi Ventures, OKX Ventures, Samsung Next, and Animoca Brands – nice work if you can get it!)
NTU’s Louis Phee, the Vice President, is clear about what they’re after here: open and trustworthy AI depends on a solid, accountable foundation. And for him, working with 0G is a great way to build the sort of AI stack that encourages wide open participation and is more transparent.
Focus Areas: What They’ll be researching
The hub is going to look into all sorts of cool new approaches to decentralized AI, including:
- Decentralized computing: Just imagine being able to break a tremendous computing job down into lots and lots of smaller bits and then sharing them out across networks – that’s the idea here.
- Using blockchain to keep model alignment in check: Essentially, you want to be able to check that the output from your AI system is actually doing what it’s supposed to be doing – this is about making sure that happens.
I had the privilege of presenting Zero Gravity Labs @0G_labs at @NTUsg , where we officially launched a S$5 million joint research centre for decentralised AI technologies. This partnership brings together NTU’s incredible academic strength in blockchain, cryptography, and… pic.twitter.com/tIbSoJHIUq
— Ada (Ø,G) (@Ada_0g) November 10, 2025
And then there’s building shiny new AI marketplaces: These will be designed so that contributors get rewarded for sharing their data, AI models, and computing resources—it’s all about creating a more collaborative, transparent ecosystem.
Dotted at the top of this project are NTU’s Associate Provost, Professor Wen Yonggang, and 0G’s CTO, Ming Wu, and their plan is to build some really solid, open-source AI ecosystems. Some of the first apps they’ll be looking at are likely to be in finance, healthcare, and smart infrastructure—and they reckon they’ll have the first results in about 2 years.
Zero Gravity CEO Michael Heinrich was pretty straightforward when he spoke about the aims of the partnership: “We want AI to be a public good,” and, if he gets his way, it’ll be a case of the genie not getting back into the bottle – at least, not as far as AI is concerned. We’re talking about opening up AI development to loads more people, beyond just the centralised monopolies that dominate the field at the moment.
Building a better future for Asian AI talent
NTU will also be hosting a whole slew of students, researchers, and other folk throughout the four-year program. They’re planning workshops, hackathons, scholarships, and loads of open-source projects—all aimed at building next-gen AI talent in Asia.
On the ground, it’ll be NTU’s College of Computing and Data Science, alongside the Centre for Computational Technologies for Finance (CCTF), doing the heavy lifting—they’ll cover the full range of AI training, governance, and blockchain security frameworks. They’re working with 0G to ensure they get the best possible results.
NTU and 0G’s plan is to use this expertise to set a new global standard for AI—one that is way more open, way more transparent, and which creates loads more opportunities for people across Asia to get involved in developing the thing we now call AI.
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