Everything You Need to Know About Venice AI and Why it Ran to $300 Million Off Launch

• Venice launched the VVV token on Ethereum Layer 2 Base, distributing 50% of its supply to users and AI communities.
• The platform offers uncensored, decentralized AI tools, including open-source LLMs and privacy-focused services like DeepSeek.
• Venice has grown to 450,000 users and aims to simplify AI access while reducing reliance on centralized intermediaries.

Venice, a private and censorship-resistant AI platform, has officially unveiled its VVV token on Ethereum Layer 2 network Base. In a move aimed at empowering its users and decentralized AI communities, Venice is distributing 50% of the token’s initial supply to its ecosystem participants.

A Token Designed for Decentralized AI

The VVV token is built to bridge the capabilities of blockchain technology and generative AI. Venice’s goal is to provide autonomous AI agents, developers, and bots with access to uncensored and decentralized inference capabilities—allowing AI to process and interpret new data without relying on traditional banks or centralized intermediaries. This, the project claims, reduces costs and operational friction compared to closed-source AI platforms.

Interestingly, while the VVV token enhances platform functionality, it isn’t mandatory for using Venice’s services, according to a statement shared with The Block.

VVV Tokenomics and Distribution

The tokenomics for VVV are centered on inclusivity. From its genesis supply of 100 million tokens:

• 25 million tokens are allocated to 100,000 eligible Venice users, based on a Dec. 31 snapshot.
• 25 million tokens go to Base blockchain’s decentralized AI community accounts, including Virtuals and agents like Luna and VaderAI.
• Claims expire on March 13, and notably, there was no pre-sale for VVV tokens.

Of the remaining supply:

• 35 million tokens (35%) are retained by Venice, with 10 million allocated to the team (vesting over 24 months).
• 10 million tokens (10%) are set aside for the Venice Incentive Fund.
• 5 million tokens (5%) are designated for liquidity deployment on the Base DEX Aerodrome.

Annual inflation will start at 14%, introducing 14 million new tokens distributed to stakers and Venice, driven by the demand for Venice’s API capacity. “If you stake 1% of VVV, you get 1% of Venice’s growing API capacity—indefinitely,” the project explained.

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What is Venice?

Launched in May by Erik Voorhees, the founder of ShapeShift, Venice was created to provide private, uncensored, open-source generative AI. In just eight months, Venice has grown to over 450,000 registered users and 50,000 daily active users, processing more than 15,000 inference requests per hour.

Voorhees, who self-funded the project, emphasized its mission: “In a world increasingly dominated by AI, humans must have a way to interact with machine intelligence without centralized surveillance or control. Venice is here to make that possible.”

The platform is free to use, offering access to tools like leading open-source LLM models, PDF analysis, and image/code generation. Its pro version includes higher usage limits, AI character features, and access to DeepSeek—a topical platform gaining traction. “If you want to use DeepSeek without your conversations going to the CCP, use venice.ai,” Voorhees posted recently, emphasizing privacy features that store all data locally on users’ browsers.

A Glimpse at the Future

With its VVV token, Venice aims to redefine decentralized AI, creating an ecosystem that prioritizes privacy, transparency, and ease of use. As the AI industry evolves at a rapid pace, Venice’s open-source approach and community-driven model could serve as a blueprint for the next generation of AI platforms.

As Voorhees said, “It doesn’t matter if AI scares you—it’s inevitable.”