In an interview at EthCC, Greg Osuri, founder of Akash Network (CRYPTO:AKT), shared insights into his journey and the future of decentralised cloud computing.
Osuri's venture into this field began before Akash Network, with his earlier success at AngelHack, a globally renowned hackathon-based accelerator that helped launch companies like Firebase, later acquired by Google.
Osuri identified a significant challenge in the tech ecosystem: scaling small hackathon projects to robust solutions.
This led him to explore container technologies, contributing extensively to the Kubernetes ecosystem.
Akash Network was born from the vision of an open-source, decentralised cloud.
Initially, Akash wasn't tied to cryptocurrency, but scalability challenges with centralised structures led to a pivot towards peer-to-peer infrastructure.
In 2016, Akash faced scalability issues with Ethereum, prompting the development of its own Layer-1 blockchain using Cosmos SDK, favoring proof of stake.
Unlike traditional Layer-1s, Akash focuses on decentralised cloud computing without smart contracts.
Akash's primary feature is offering on-demand, high-density GPUs at a fraction of the market cost, addressing the current GPU shortage.
Osuri emphasised that AI is becoming central to modern life, and Akash leverages surplus GPUs, creating a secondary market that traditional providers can't match.
He sees a unique synergy between AI and crypto, with decentralised compute networks expected to grow significantly.
Despite technological advancements, Akash faces challenges onboarding non-crypto users due to the need for wallets and AKT tokens.
To address this, Akash is exploring account abstraction and trial wallets to reduce onboarding time.
Akash's user base includes platforms like Brev.dev and universities like the University of Texas, with notable users like Erik Voorhees’s Venice.ai utilising its capabilities.
Osuri envisions a future where Akash plays a crucial role in the convergence of AI and crypto, providing innovative decentralised cloud solutions.
He believes the trend is just beginning and expresses excitement about the transformative journey ahead.