Aethir 联合创始人 Mark Rydon 谈去中心化计算的兴起和中美地缘政治的挑战

Aethir 的去中心化图形处理单元 (GPU) 网络最初是作为云游戏解决方案，但联合创始人 Mark Rydon 表示，该公司现在专注于人工智能

Aethir, a decentralized Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) network, initially focused on cloud gaming. However, co-founder Mark Rydon reveals that the company's attention has shifted towards artificial intelligence (AI). This pivot is driven by soaring demand for compute power in AI, which is increasing the value of GPUs and highlighting a clash between U.S.-China geopolitics.

Aethir 是一个去中心化图形处理单元 (GPU) 网络，最初专注于云游戏。然而，联合创始人马克·雷登透露，公司的注意力已经转向人工智能（AI）。这一转变是由人工智能计算能力需求飙升推动的，这增加了 GPU 的价值，并凸显了中美地缘政治之间的冲突。

Founded in 2022, Aethir is a prominent protocol in the Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN) space, thanks to its real-world utility. DePIN protocols are networks where people collaborate to offer a service in exchange for a token.

Aethir 成立于 2022 年，因其在现实世界中的实用性而成为去中心化物理基础设施 (DePIN) 领域的杰出协议。 DePIN 协议是人们协作提供服务以换取代币的网络。

Over the past year, the DePIN space has experienced rapid growth, with CoinGecko reporting a $33 billion market cap for DePIN coins. A diverse range of DePINs has emerged, covering nearly every vertical imaginable, from flight tracking data to mapping.

在过去的一年里，DePIN 领域经历了快速增长，CoinGecko 报告称 DePIN 代币的市值为 330 亿美元。各种各样的 DePIN 已经出现，几乎覆盖了所有可以想象到的垂直领域，从航班跟踪数据到地图绘制。

Aethir is a key project in decentralized compute, demonstrating the capability of distributed computing to power AI alongside large, centralized data centers.

Aethir 是去中心化计算领域的一个关键项目，展示了分布式计算与大型集中式数据中心一起为人工智能提供动力的能力。

GPUs were initially used exclusively for gaming, with companies like Nvidia and AMD competing to produce more powerful GPU chips. The goal was to enhance the fidelity and resolution of virtual worlds for gamers.

GPU 最初专门用于游戏，Nvidia 和 AMD 等公司竞相生产更强大的 GPU 芯片。目标是提高游戏玩家虚拟世界的保真度和分辨率。

However, around 2006, researchers at Nvidia discovered an additional strength of GPUs: parallel computing. This capability, which enhances graphics, was also found to be effective in crunching massive amounts of data and could accelerate traditional computing workloads.

然而，2006 年左右，Nvidia 的研究人员发现了 GPU 的另一个优势：并行计算。这种增强图形功能的功能还被发现可以有效处理大量数据，并可以加速传统计算工作负载。

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本系列由Consensus Hong Kong 为您带来。 2 月 18 日至 20 日，快来体验 Web3 和数字资产领域最具影响力的活动。立即注册并使用代码 CoinDesk15 可节省 15%。

But this was 2006, and verticals like AI were not yet on anyone's radar. As a result, Nvidia continued to trade for less than $1.

但那是 2006 年，像人工智能这样的垂直行业还没有引起任何人的关注。结果，Nvidia 的交易价格继续低于 1 美元。

Fast forward to today, and Nvidia is competing with Apple for the title of the world's most valuable company. In recent years, GPUs have become the driving force behind the AI revolution, powering everything from generative AI models to advanced machine learning algorithms.

快进到今天，英伟达正在与苹果争夺全球最有价值公司的称号。近年来，GPU 已成为人工智能革命背后的驱动力，为从生成式人工智能模型到高级机器学习算法的一切提供动力。

Like the journey of Nvidia and GPUs, Aethir began by offering idle GPUs from data centers to bolster cloud gaming platforms. However, as co-founder Mark Rydon explained in an interview with CoinDesk, the company realized that the real money was in AI.

与 Nvidia 和 GPU 的旅程一样，Aethir 也从提供数据中心的闲置 GPU 开始，以支持云游戏平台。然而，正如联合创始人 Mark Rydon 在接受 CoinDesk 采访时解释的那样，该公司意识到真正的钱在于人工智能。

"We started Aethir within a gaming context," said Rydon. "But we quickly realized that the enterprise-capable GPU cloud we were building had massive relevance to AI sectors. AI runtime customers will pay a lot more than gamers, and the demand for compute in AI is just incredible."

“我们在游戏环境中创建了 Aethir，”Rydon 说道。 “但我们很快意识到，我们正在构建的企业级 GPU 云与 AI 领域有着巨大的相关性。AI 运行时客户将比游戏玩家支付更多的费用，而且 AI 计算的需求令人难以置信。”

TrendForce, a market research firm, estimates the value of the AI server industry to be $205 billion, which is particularly impressive considering that they estimate the value of servers, as a whole, to be just over $300 billion.

市场研究公司 TrendForce 估计 AI 服务器行业的价值为 2050 亿美元，考虑到他们估计服务器的整体价值刚刚超过 3000 亿美元，这一数字尤其令人印象深刻。

Aethir operates as a marketplace for GPU compute, offering idle GPUs to businesses that require on-demand capacity without the overhead of owning or maintaining their own hardware.

Aethir 作为 GPU 计算市场运营，为需要按需容量的企业提供闲置 GPU，而无需承担拥有或维护自己硬件的开销。

This is especially significant for researchers outside of prestigious institutions, as it provides them with access to computing power without the massive capital expense of purchasing their own infrastructure.

这对于著名机构之外的研究人员来说尤其重要，因为它为他们提供了计算能力，而无需花费大量资金购买自己的基础设施。

“This is the most expensive compute that there’s ever been, and if you’re not efficient in managing that compute, it’s a huge capital drain,” explained Rydon during an interview on the sidelines of Devcon in Bangkok last November. "Our decentralized approach allows us to scale into regions…that need compute the most but can least afford it."

“这是有史以来最昂贵的计算，如果你不能有效地管理该计算，就会造成巨大的资本流失，”Rydon 在去年 11 月曼谷 Devcon 间隙接受采访时解释道。 “我们的去中心化方法使我们能够扩展到需要计算最多但负担能力最差的区域。”

Given Nvidia's leadership in the AI space, Chinese researchers are eager to obtain access to these ultra-powerful chips, which are generations ahead of what is available domestically.

鉴于英伟达在人工智能领域的领先地位，中国研究人员渴望获得这些超强大的芯片，这些芯片比国内现有的芯片领先几代。

However, geopolitics have intervened. The U.S. Department of Commerce has prohibited the sale of Nvidia's most advanced chips, such as the H100, to China in an effort to keep Beijing one step behind.

然而，地缘政治已经介入。美国商务部禁止向中国出售英伟达最先进的芯片，例如H100，以让北京落后一步。

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal in August 2024, Chinese firms were bypassing U.S. export controls by renting decentralized GPU computing power abroad through companies like Aethir.

据《华尔街日报》2024 年 8 月的一篇报道，中国企业通过 Aethir 等公司在国外租用去中心化 GPU 计算能力，从而绕过美国的出口管制。

“We don’t accept high performance computing [requests] from places like China. You can’t if you have H100s," said Rydon. "They’re not meant to be in China. We geofence and don’t allow that compute to onboard.”

“我们不接受来自中国等地的高性能计算[请求]。如果你有 H100，你就做不到，”Rydon 说。“它们不适合在中国。我们设置了地理围栏，不允许该计算进入。”

Despite the push towards decentralization in Web3, Rydon emphasizes that Aethir is not fully permissionless.

尽管 Web3 正在推动去中心化，但 Rydon 强调 Aethir 并不是完全无需许可的。

"This is necessary for $100 million deals to happen,” said Rydon.

“这对于达成 1 亿美元的交易是必要的，”Rydon 说。

A Web2 layer is required to track service agreements that outline the performance and reliability standards for enterprise clients and to conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, which verify the identities of participants to ensure regulatory compliance.

需要 Web2 层来跟踪概述企业客户的性能和可靠性标准的服务协议，并执行了解您的客户 (KYC) 流程，该流程验证参与者的身份以确保法规遵从性。

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“我不’