Yo crypto fam!
So I promised to share one hot project every day, and I'm not about to start breaking promises on day ONE!
I spent all night digging through some fresh projects that just secured funding (yeah, my sleep schedule's already screwed lol). After a few energy drinks and way too many browser tabs, I've got something that made me go "holy sh*t" at 3am.
Fortytwo - Decentralized AI That's Not Just Another Buzzword Combo
OK, we've all seen those "AI + blockchain" projects that make big promises but deliver nothing but fancy whitepapers. This one feels different.
Fortytwo is tackling something that's been bugging me for ages - those massive AI data centers sucking up electricity like there's no tomorrow. Instead of building more power-hungry monsters, these guys are building a swarm intelligence system.
What's that mean in human speak? They're connecting thousands of smaller AI models running on regular devices - like the laptop I'm typing this on right now. Your idle computing power becomes part of a massive AI brain.
The Hot Details I Uncovered
So get this - Fortytwo just closed their Pre-Seed round YESTERDAY (March 6th) raising $2.3M. Not huge by crypto standards, but the investor list is what got me excited.
Santiago R. Santos is backing them (if you don't know him, dude's got a crazy good track record picking early winners). Then there's CMT Digital and Paul Taylor in there too.
But here's what really caught my eye - Big Brain Holdings is the LEAD investor. When these guys lead a round, I pay attention. They've also got Chorus One and Escape Velocity (EV3) on board, plus Comfy Capital and Mentat Group. Even Keone Hon threw in as an angel.
That's a solid lineup of smart money that doesn't usually jump on BS projects.
How It Actually Works (From What I Can Tell)
The cool part is how simple they've made it for regular people. You basically:
- Install their node software on your computer
- Let it run in the background using your idle computing resources
- Earn "Points" based on how much you contribute
- Help power a decentralized AI network without even thinking about it
No need to babysit the thing or become a technical wizard. It just works passively while you do whatever else you normally do. Kinda reminds me of early Theta or Storj vibes, but for AI.
Why I'm Actually Excited (Not Just Hyping)
Full transparency - I put some cash into this yesterday. Here's why:
The tech makes sense. I mined ETH back in the day on my gaming PC, so I get the concept of using distributed computing power.
Scalability in AI is a REAL problem, not some made-up issue. Have you seen the electricity bills for running those massive models? Insane.
Their approach feels scrappy and clever - very crypto ethos. Use what already exists instead of building more infrastructure.
Early community vibes remind me of early Ethereum days - lots of devs, fewer "wen moon" kids.
That investor lineup doesn't throw $2.3M at projects randomly.
The Risks (Because I'm Not Selling You Hopium)
My college roommate would call me out if I didn't mention the downsides:
- Coordination between thousands of small models is HARD. The tech could fail.
- Traditional AI companies have billions to throw at problems.
- Regulatory stuff around distributed computing is murky.
- They're super early - Pre-Seed means there's a long road ahead.
- "Points" could mean nothing if they don't transition to a solid token model.
Bottom Line
This isn't financial advice (duh), but I'm watching Fortytwo closely. If they pull this off, we're looking at something that could actually make AI more accessible while giving regular folks a way to earn from their computing power.
Already signed up to be a node operator myself. Will report back how it goes.
Curious what you all think! Drop your thoughts below - especially if you think I'm missing something important.
Till tomorrow's pick,
Max š