Tether Set To Further Embrace AI After Record Profits

With its enormous cash pile, Tether now wants to compete with major tech companies in the field of AI

, and Perion Lim

13 August 2024 . 4:00 PM

3 min read

USDT powerhouse Tether is widening its focus to explore the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

In an interview with WIRED, Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed his intention to venture into uncharted territories like AI, competing against the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

"We are already seeing how AI is being heavily politicized," Ardoino said. "We believe that having a player independent of the classic actors—like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google—is going to be very, very important."

Tether is dealing with a unique problem as interest rates rose to record levels in past years: having too much cash.

In the last 24 months, Tether has accrued around $11.9 billion profit as it seeks for way to spend that cash. However, the company will always prioritize its stablecoin business, reflecting its commitment to risk management by only investing using excess cash.

"But almost everything else—I would say more than 90 percent of the profit Tether makes—we will look to reinvest in things that matter to us and our community," said Ardonio in the same interview.

However, unlike traditional Venture Capitalists, Tether expresses its commitment to thorough due diligence when it comes to founders in the wake of the FTX scandal and promises to work closely with management.

Tether strongly believes that technology is not to be blamed and most company failures can be attributed to management failure.

Tether's stance on AI came after the stablecoin announced a global recruitment drive for top-tier talent to contribute to its burgeoning AI division.

Tether's decision to enter the AI landscape is significant because of the focus on open-source and transparency - the opposite of the often closed-source nature of AI development by big tech companies.

Recently aelf has also announced its partnership with ChainGPT, in a strategic move to revolutionize AI interactions and boost blockchain functionality for all.

With the intersection of blockchain and crypto, this is definitely an interesting space for market participants to watch out for.