Nesa is a Layer-1 blockchain designed for AI inference, the process of running a trained model to generate an output from a user’s input.

Its network connects applications that request AI outputs with nodes that provide computing resources. Blockchain infrastructure is used to coordinate requests, record activity, verify execution and settle payments without depending on one AI provider.

A core part of Nesa’s architecture is the Artificial Intelligence Terminal, or AIT. It provides a standard execution environment for AI models, defining how participating nodes should run each workload. Models are packaged as AIT kernels containing the information needed for execution, including configuration files, inference code and aggregation rules.

Nesa also includes systems for private and verifiable computation. Depending on the workload, these may use trusted execution environments, secret sharing, encrypted computation or cryptographic proofs. Some methods described in the project’s technical documentation remain under development or evaluation.

NES is the native asset of the Nesa network.

NES is used to pay for AI inference requests and other services provided through the network.

Validators and inference nodes can stake NES to take part in network operations. Participants may earn rewards for validating transactions, processing model workloads or making AI models available. Stakes may be reduced when a participant breaks protocol rules or submits incorrect results.

Applications built on Nesa can access language, image, translation, classification, summarisation and other machine-learning models. The project refers to applications using its infrastructure as Decentralised AI Applications, or DAIs.

Nesa was founded by Dr Marco Di Maggio and Patrick Colangelo.

Dr Di Maggio is Director of the Harvard Crypto & Web3 Lab, a professor at Imperial College London, a former professor at Harvard Business School and a fellow of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Colangelo is a Harvard graduate with a background in software, hardware and technology development.

The project is developed by Nesa Labs Inc. Its wider team includes researchers and engineers working across artificial intelligence, cryptography, security, distributed systems, blockchain infrastructure and platform operations.