Decentralized AI Society and Web3 Organizations Join DSA

In a mark of how the AI industry’s insatiable appetite for data is fueling interest in innovative, dynamic, and cost-effective approaches to securely storing information, the Decentralized Storage Alliance (DSA) today welcomes six new members. The Decentralized AI Society (DAIS), Akave, DeStor, Seal Storage, Curio, and Titan Network have been added to DSA’s growing, global network of leading software, hardware, and solution providers committed to advancing decentralized storage solutions for enterprise.

These companies join founding members AMD, Seagate, Ernst & Young, Protocol Labs, and Filecoin Foundation (FF) in the DSA’s mission to empower enterprises to leverage decentralized data storage and processing.

The Holon Data Report estimates that over 75,000 zettabytes (ZiB) of data will be created by 2040, mostly powered by the AI industry’s needs for machine-learning and inference. That’s an exponential expansion –– 1000x larger than all data generated in 2020.

The need for storage solutions has never been greater, yet centralized storage providers continue to consolidate the market, limiting data efficiency and pricing. Decentralized storage offers more efficient, robust, and secure services at a better value, creating a space where businesses – of any size – can thrive.

There’s also a growing awareness that if humanity is to enjoy a healthy AI future, people and businesses will need direct control over their data, a framework that will give rise to new business models and monetization opportunities. But that will require verifiable proof of ownership, which, in turn, will demand the presence of reliable, persistent storage infrastructure that bears none of the centralized model’s single-point-of-failure vulnerabilities.

“As our AI-dominated future approaches, it is vital for our shared prosperity and wellbeing that no single storage provider has gatekeeping privileges over the data and computational capacity that will power it,” said Michael Casey, Chairman of the Decentralized AI Society. “In forging ties to the mainstream corporate enterprises that are building that future, the Decentralized Storage Alliance is doing vital work. DAIS is proud to partner with this game-changing community.”

Through collaboration between Web2 and Web3 leaders, DSA aims to create a thriving ecosystem for decentralized data storage, helping businesses integrate decentralized storage networks like Filecoin and other Web3 technologies. Filecoin is a decentralized network that stores files with built-in economic incentives to ensure that data is stored reliably over time and makes decentralized storage – at scale – a real possibility. Additionally, the Filecoin network ensures that data is reliably stored through distributed nodes globally, reducing risks associated with centralized control.

Looking ahead, DSA aims to support enterprises in overcoming challenges related to data integrity, sovereignty, and lock-in while providing a more secure, cost-effective alternative to centralized storage. The DSA is currently focused on developing specifications for Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and access controls (ACLs). This will build on the group’s previous accomplishments since its 2022 launch:

• New reference architectures: DSA released a storage reference architecture for the Filecoin network to reduce compute infrastructure while increasing data integrity and network resiliency making it easier to onboard commercial-grade storage loads to the network. DSA also released a sealing reference architecture built with Supermicro with benchmark results showing a 6X increase in throughput as well as cost savings.

• Advancements in zero-knowledge proof (zk proofs) processing that optimize several key steps in the Filecoin network proof process via CPU and GPU optimizations, as well as throughout the Web3 infrastructure stack. The result is an 80% reduction in cost and latency for proof generation – saving Filecoin storage providers money, and increasing flexibility in how they use their hardware and holds great promise for reducing costs and compute times across the entire Web3 ecosystem.

• New open-source software optimizations for the Filecoin network, significantly reducing data onboarding costs by up to 40% and sealing server costs by up to 90%. These network optimizations push forward decentralized storage technologies, advancing the industry and enabling further adoption by enterprises.

DSA is paving the way for a decentralized storage future that empowers enterprises to participate in the rapidly growing data economy.

“Decentralized storage is vital for securing the future data economy. At Akave, we believe in empowering enterprises to take control of their data, managed through on-chain data lakes with verifiable, on-chain transactions. By joining the Decentralized Storage Alliance, we aim to help build a transparent and scalable storage ecosystem, unlocking the full potential of data for everyone,” said Stefaan Vervaet, CEO of Akave.

“As businesses generate and rely on more data than ever, the need for secure, scalable, and cost-effective storage solutions is critical,” said Jen King, Co-Founder & CEO of DeStor. “Joining the Decentralized Storage Alliance aligns with our mission to empower enterprises with innovative, decentralized storage options that offer better security, resilience, and control. We’re excited to collaborate with industry leaders to drive the future of data storage and make decentralized technology accessible for businesses of all sizes.”

“Collaboration is key to successfully advancing both hybrid and fully decentralized solutions essential to addressing the needs of enterprise, and Seal is thrilled to be part of the DSA in partnership with all of its members,” said Scott Doughman, Chief Business Officer, Seal Storage.

“Decentralized internet data storage is an exciting frontier with a variety of new challenges,” said Andrew Jackson, President, Curio Storage. “These are best overcome together where our varied expertise can find the solutions we each need to get the world heading toward this amazing opportunity for small and large businesses alike. Curio software has from day-1 been lowering the difficulty for SPs to start and to scale. We look forward to building this storage platform with you all.”

"We are excited to join the Decentralized Storage Alliance as it aligns with our mission of empowering communities to become the owners of their digital resources," said Konstantin Tkachuk, CSO and co-founder of Titan Network. "Decentralized storage solutions hold the potential to revolutionize how data is managed, making it more secure, accessible, and efficient. At Titan Network, we believe that through the aggregation and utilization of idle resources, we can unlock immense value for enterprises and individuals alike. By collaborating with industry leaders within DSA, we aim to bring decentralized infrastructure on par with modern cloud solutions, providing a better, more scalable future for data storage."

"The Filecoin network is a breakthrough in decentralized data storage, safeguarding humanity's most important information and serving as the backbone for the evolving internet landscape," said Clara Tsao, a founding officer at Filecoin Foundation. “We look forward to continuing to contribute to the DSA’s accomplishments to advance decentralized storage for enterprises.”

“Decentralized storage offers immense benefits, including enhanced data security, lower costs, and increased accessibility,” said Daniel Leon, Founding Advisor of the DSA. “The Decentralized AI Society and our other new members bring a wealth of knowledge that will help us push decentralized storage solutions forward and into new markets.”

About Decentralized Storage Alliance

Decentralized Storage Alliance (DSA) is a professional organization launched in October 2022 by a community of companies who imagine a better path to storing data through decentralized storage solutions. Its charter is to drive industry growth, bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3 storage technologies, and highlight advances in technology and the work of its members.

For more information about joining the Decentralized Storage Alliance, visit dsalliance.io.