Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Zero Gravity (0G), a decentralized AI infrastructure company, have announced a S$5 million partnership to establish a joint research hub advancing blockchain-based artificial intelligence (AI) technologies designed to make AI more transparent, secure, and accessible.
This marks 0G’s first university collaboration globally and will fund multiple projects exploring decentralized AI training, blockchain-integrated model alignment, and proof-of-useful-work consensus mechanisms.
The initiative aims to bridge academic research and scalable infrastructure for open AI systems, which will be different from conventional AI systems that are closed and controlled by private companies.
For instance, instead of AI systems running in closed servers where processing and results are not transparent, using blockchain technology will allow every step of the process, from training to output, to be recorded and verified.
Leadership and Vision
The joint research hub was launched today by 0G Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder Michael Heinrich and NTU Vice President (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) Professor Louis Phee.
“Open and trustworthy AI depends on a foundation that is decentralized and accountable,” said Prof Phee. “NTU has built world-class expertise in blockchain systems, cryptography, and computing. By working with 0G, we aim to design a next-generation, innovative AI stack that enables global participation and transparency for everyone.”
“Our mission is to make AI a public good,” said Michael Heinrich, CEO and Co-founder of 0G. “By partnering with NTU, we are aligning with a global leader in blockchain and computing research to move beyond centralized AI monopolies. Together, we will build an open ecosystem where developers, institutions, and communities can contribute, verify, and audit.”
The collaboration will be jointly led by Professor Wen Yonggang, NTU Associate Provost (Graduate Education) and Dean of the Graduate College, and Dr. Ming Wu, 0G Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. Their teams will develop decentralized computing architectures and secure AI marketplaces that reward contributors for data and computing resources.
Program Details and Objectives
The four-year initiative will also include workshops, hackathons, student scholarships, and open-source projects to nurture Asia’s next generation of decentralized AI talent. Early proof-of-concepts are expected within the first two years, targeting pilot applications in finance, healthcare, and smart infrastructure.
NTU’s College of Computing and Data Science and its Centre in Computational Technologies for Finance (CCTF) will provide research leadership in scalable model training, AI governance, and blockchain-enabled security frameworks.
The partnership positions Singapore as a hub for open and trustworthy AI development and sets the stage for future international collaboration in decentralized intelligence.
About 0G
0G is the first decentralized AI protocol (AIP), purpose-built to power a truly democratized future of intelligence. As a modular and infinitely scalable Layer 1, 0G enables the execution of decentralized AI applications at scale. It unifies high-performance decentralized storage, compute, and data availability (DA) to support the next generation of AI-native use cases. With verifiable AI processing and a permissionless agent ecosystem, 0G is laying the foundation for an open and unstoppable AI economy.
About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 35,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Business, Computing & Data Science, Engineering, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, Medicine, Science, and Graduate colleges.
NTU is also home to world-renowned autonomous institutes – the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering – and various leading research centres such as the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N).
Under the NTU Smart Campus vision, the University harnesses the power of digital technology and tech-enabled solutions to support better learning and living experiences, the discovery of new knowledge, and the sustainability of resources.
Ranked amongst the world’s top universities, the University’s main campus is also frequently listed among the world’s most beautiful. Known for its sustainability, NTU has achieved 100% Green Mark Platinum certification for all its eligible building projects. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a medical campus in Novena, Singapore’s healthcare district.