The First Project Report: How VANA Is Reinventing Data Ownership and AI Training

In today's digital age, data has become a more precious resource than gold. Tech giants reap huge commercial benefits by collecting and analyzing users' personal data, but users often do not receive the rewards they deserve. This phenomenon of unequal data transactions and privacy violations has become a serious problem in modern society.
Vana was born to break this status quo and challenge the existing data economy model. Through decentralized technology, Vana allows each user to regain control over their own data, and even use this data to train AI models for direct benefits. In Vana's world, users are not only creators of data, but also owners and beneficiaries of data, redefining the value and usage rights of data.
Now that VANA is about to launch on The First trading platform, how can we find potential investment opportunities in the VANA ecosystem? What different surprises can VANA bring to crypto users?
First, what is VANA?
Vana is a decentralized AI data protocol aimed at empowering users to participate in the training, management, and profit from AI models through their own data. Through a decentralized organization called "Data DAO", Vana enables users to own and manage their personal data while protecting privacy, and can receive rewards for contributing data and models. Through its unique data liquidity network, Vana enables data to flow, trade, and appreciate like financial assets.
Vana originated from a research project at MIT in 2018, dedicated to allowing users to own their own data and the AI models they create. It is completely open source and operates in a permissionless decentralized network form. The Open Data Foundation is committed to promoting the large-scale adoption of the Vana protocol, while other contributing organizations such as Corsali focus on research and development.
In the Web2 era, platform companies achieve monetization by collecting user data for free. For example, Jinri Toutiao, a subsidiary of ByteDance, can generate tens of billions of RMB in advertising revenue in just one year. Even if content creators receive a certain share on the platform, the core interests are still firmly controlled by the company.
Vana combines blockchain technology and decentralized data management, allowing each user's data to be used for AI training without violating privacy, while ensuring ownership of the data belongs to the user. The platform adopts two core mechanisms: proof of contribution mechanism and non-managed data mechanism, ensuring data privacy and security.
II. VANA operation mode
Vana's operation relies on its "Data Mobility Network", whose core functions include:
Data DAO : Users upload their own private data, and the data will be integrated into various data DAOs, such as Reddit Data DAO, GPT Data DAO, etc.
Token Incentives : Users receive platform-exclusive token incentives by contributing data, participating in training, and owning AI models. These tokens can be used for data exchange, AI model rewards, or participation in decision-making through governance.
Privacy Protection : Through the "Proof of Contribution Mechanism" and "Unmanaged Data Mechanism", Vana ensures that users' data is only used within the authorized scope and protects privacy.
Multi-token system : Vana has introduced dedicated tokens for different datasets and models, such as dataset dedicated tokens, AI model tokens, etc., empowering the growth of the platform ecosystem.
III. VANA's technical core
Just as Bitcoin achieves trustless value transfer, Ethereum achieves programmable state transition, and Vana achieves programmable data ownership , its core principle is personal Data Sovereignty . Vana's technical architecture relies on advanced blockchain and encryption technology to ensure the security, privacy, and tradability of data in a decentralized environment. Its key technologies include:
Proof of contribution mechanism : Ensure that user data can be verified while protecting privacy. In this way, users can contribute data with peace of mind and receive corresponding rewards.
Unmanaged data mechanism : Guarantees that data is only used for approved AI training, avoiding data leakage and abuse.
EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain : Based on the EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain architecture, Vana supports decentralized operations and data flow, ensuring efficient, secure, and scalable platforms.
IV. VANA team and financing information
Vana was co-founded by two experienced Filipino entrepreneurs, Anna Kazlauskas and Art Abal, with backgrounds in computer science, economics, public policy, and AI.
Anna Kazlauskas : She has a background in computer science and economics, early involvement in Ethereum mining, and has conducted data research at international financial institutions. She also served as a policy advisor to the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, dedicated to designing a fair legal system.
Art Abal : Master of Public Policy from Harvard University, led innovation in data collection methods at Appen, an AI training data provider.
Vana has received support from top investment institutions including Paradigm and Coinbase since its inception. The financing of the project is as follows:
December 2022 : Completed $18 million financing, led by Paradigm , with multiple investors participating.
September 2024 : Completed $5 million strategic financing, led by Coinbase .
Vana also completed an undisclosed financing of $2 million.
The team is composed of blockchain technology experts and senior practitioners in the AI field, dedicated to creating a decentralized and privacy-friendly data exchange platform to promote the combination of AI and blockchain technology.
V. VANA Token Economics
Vana's token economy model uses a variety of Incentive Mechanisms to ensure the healthy operation of the ecosystem. Users receive VANA tokens through data contributions and AI Model Training, which can be used for DAO governance, data transactions, and reward distribution. The circulation and reward mechanism of the tokens establish a closed loop, which not only encourages users to continuously contribute high-quality data, but also provides strong momentum for the platform's ecological development. And the distribution method is as follows:
Core contributors: 22,560,000, accounting for 18.8% of the total
Community: 52.8 million, accounting for 44.0% of the total
Investors: 17,040,000, accounting for 14.2% of the total
Ecosystems: 27,480,000, accounting for 22.9% of the total
VANA token is a native token within the platform. Users receive VANA token rewards by contributing data and training AI models. The main uses of its token include:
Data exchange and rewards : After users upload data and participate in AI training, they can receive VANA token rewards.
AI model governance : Users holding VANA tokens can participate in the platform's governance decisions, deciding the rules for the use of data and models.
Trading and Liquidity : VANA tokens can also be used for trading within Vana's ecosystem, enhancing platform liquidity.
Six, VANA future value analysis
Vana is committed to becoming the core platform for decentralized data exchange and AI Model Training, with huge market potential. With the continuous development of AI technology, decentralized data management will become an important trend in the future. By establishing a data DAO and tokenized data liquidity network, Vana can provide users with a more controlled and valuable participation mode.
The unique feature of the platform is that it not only provides privacy protection for users, but also incentivizes more users and developers to join through token economics. With the addition of more data DAOs and the increase of AI training models, Vana is expected to become the core hub of the AI industry and promote the popularization of decentralized AI.
VANA tokens will be available for trading on The First platform at 16:00 on February 27, 2025 (UTC + 8). As an investor, you will have the opportunity to participate in trading at the initial stage of VANA and gain more investment opportunities through the platform's efficient services. With the continuous expansion of Vana in the AI field, the value and demand for VANA tokens are expected to see huge growth. Join The First trading platform now and start your journey of trading VANA tokens, witnessing the future of data ownership and AI revolution together!