The world of AI is rapidly growing to the point it's getting hard to keep up with the latest developments. Just the other day, DeepSeek was making waves in the AI circles for disrupting the entire industry, and today, there are already 3 or 4 new models that claim to be even better than them.
With so much going on, it's easy to miss good projects that don't get as much press coverage, and Venice.ai is one of those.
What is Venice.ai
Venice.ai is a generative AI app, much like all the ones you know, and it is most likely used daily, such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gronk, you name it.
The interface is fundamentally the same, and you can do everything you are used to, such as ask questions, write code, generate images, translate languages and so on.
If Venice.ai is just like every other generative AI app, why am I even bothering to write an article about it?
Privacy and decentralization
The main selling points of Venice.ai are its focus on privacy and decentralized infrastructure. As they claim themselves:
- Venice is private and permissionless
- Venice doesn't spy on you
- Venice doesn't censor the AI
Additionally, they say Venice only stores data locally in the user's browser, and no prompts or model responses are stored on their servers.
This is made possible due to the Venice.ai Privacy Architecture
Simply put, user requests are encrypted and sent to a decentralized computing structure through a proxy server. The requests are then processed by multiple decentralized GPU providers, meaning that while each provider can see the text of a specific conversation, no single provider has access to a user's complete history or identity. Finally, the response is sent back to the user through the same proxy server, never persisting anywhere but the user's browser.
Is it free to use?
Yes. Kind of.
Venice.ai has three types of accounts:
- Guest account - No email or signup needed but there are daily limits on text and image generation.
- Free Account - Requires an email. There is still a daily limit on text and image generation, but it's higher. You also earn points (more on that later)
- Pro Account - No limit on text prompts, 1000 images a day, 2x points, PDF upload, safe mode control, system prompt access.
Therefore, yes, you can use Venice.ai for free, although if you want to unlock all of its features and virtually remove the daily limit on prompts, you must go pro, which will cost you $18 per month or $149 for the yearly plan. You can also pay with Bitcoin or other Crypto using Coinbase.
The VVV token
The project has its own token to incentivize the decentralization of their structure further.
I thought about looking for a whitepaper to learn more about VVV and its tokenomics, but what better way to learn more about it than by asking the AI?
My prompt was "Can you explain what the VVV token is, describe its tokenomics and explain how to participate in the airdrop?"
And this was the response I got:
"The VVV token is the cornerstone of the Venice ecosystem, with a limited supply of 100 million tokens. The tokenomics of VVV are relatively simple: half of the total supply was airdropped to Venice users and crypto x AI community projects, while the remainder is allocated for strategic purposes. By staking VVV tokens, users gain proportional access to the platform's API capacity, which incentivizes participation and decentralizes control over the AI.
To participate in the Venice Tokens (VVV) Airdrop, you need to connect a cryptocurrency wallet to the Venice Airdrop page and deposit enough Base ETH to cover transaction fees. You should also have an active account status. The airdrop allocated 50 million VVV tokens to over 150,000 eligible users. By staking your tokens, you can unlock free API access for text, image, and code generation."
According to Venice.ai itself, the token can be staked to increase access to the platform's API capacity, which looks like something geared more towards developers than end users.
In any case, if the project does well, the token will likely increase in value and nothing stops end users from accumulating tokens as an investment.
There is also an ongoing airdrop, which, by the moment I wrote this post, will end in 36 days.
There is not much information regarding this airdrop on the platform, except that it requires a wallet to be connected. I tried to connect my Ctrl Wallet but kept getting rejected, so I may leave it for another day.
Before wrapping up, remember I mentioned that you can earn points for using the platform and double the amount if you are a pro user?
Well, they seem to be useless, at least at the moment.
The AI itself said they don't even exist when I asked about points, and the FAQ mentions they currently have no use except to allow users to track their activity level. It remains to be seen if that will change and points will be given real utility.
Final thoughts
As with many decentralized projects, Venice.ai is still a little rough around the edges when compared to its centralized counterparts. However, that's a small price to pay for being able to use privately a powerful generative AI application without handing your data to big tech.
I found it a little weird that they advertise points as a perk for creating an account and double points for paying users while apparently there is currently no use case for them, and I was slightly annoyed by not being able to connect my wallet right away but other than that it looks like a promising project and I'll adopt it as my main gen AI app and follow it closer from now on.