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AI 🤝 Web3: Uncovering New Use Cases [Updated]

AI 🤝 Web3: Uncovering New Use Cases [Updated]

🎣 w3.catch-of-the-week cw5

Vicktoria Klich & Quinn Wilhelm
February 02, 2024

GMGM and welcome to the 🎣w3.catch-of-the-week, where the only thing better than getting unexpected airdrops is learning about new use cases. Let's catch them!

For once, this week's Web3 Space was not about tokens going to the moon, but about Jupiter - A DEX (Decentralised Exchange) Aggregator on Solana 👉 Because the long-awaited $JUP airdrop was approaching with almost 1 Million Wallets being eligible to claim.

Initially turning heads last weekend with a surprise Memecoin ($WEN), Jupiter stress-tested their new “LFG Launchpad”. Fast forward to Wednesday, and it was showtime for their own token, $JUP, to hit the launch pad.

Prior to the launch, there was much speculation in the crypto community about the performance of $JUP. Interestingly, some eligible airdrop recipients had already started selling their airdrop allocations via Whales Market, leading to even more excitement and speculation.

The token started trading at a price of $0.4 and a market cap of $540 million.

The airdrop is only the first of four distribution rounds, so if you want to qualify for the next rounds, you should interact with Jupiter.

🤝 4 Use Cases: AI meets Web3
💰 New VC funding for Web3 projects
💫 Jägermeisters Web3 Journey

💡 Synergies of AI and Web3

Vitalik Buterin, the founder of Ethereum, discusses the evolving relationship between AI and Crypto in a new blog article and showcased four Use Cases for their intersection. I'll break them down for you (as comprehensibly as possible) 🤓.

AI and Crypto have been two major technological trends. AI has evolved from simple algorithms to complex models like Large Language Models (LLMs). Similarly, Crypto has grown from its roots as digital currency to now include advanced concepts like blockchain scalability, Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), and Multi-Party Computation (MPC).

The Four Use Cases, Simplified

Vitalik Buterin highlights the following four use cases as the most significant and impactful in the convergence of AI and Crypto:

AI as a Game Player: AI is used within blockchain ecosystems, particularly in areas like arbitrage in decentralized exchanges, showcasing its efficiency.
AI as an Interface: AI helps users navigate the complex crypto world, aiming to prevent scams and enhance accessibility.
AI as the Rules of the Game: Here, AI influences decision-making within blockchains and DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations). This area is particularly experimental and demands cautious implementation.

This how the basic idea could look like:

AI as the Objective of the Game: In this scenario, blockchain technology is employed to develop and manage AI, with potential applications extending beyond blockchain.

Challenges and Opportunities

Opportunities: The merging of AI and crypto promises more efficient, transparent applications, opening new avenues in both fields.
Challenges: Significant concerns include the security of AI within open-source crypto environments and the vulnerability of AI models to adversarial attacks.

Conclusion - Future Outlook

👉 The convergence of AI and cryptocurrencies is still at an early stage, but holds great potential for technological breakthroughs.

👉 A balance needs to be struck between innovation, security and ethical considerations.

As we've stepped into 2024, venture capitalists haven't wasted any time diving into the future of the internet. Here are my favorite VC fundings so far this year, showcasing where the smart money is heading 👀.

$34 Million

Portal, a San Francisco-based fintech provider, recently emerged with a $34 million seed round to develop its innovative Bitcoin-based decentralized exchange (DEX). This platform is designed to facilitate peer-to-peer Bitcoin swaps across various blockchains, bypassing intermediaries like centralized exchanges.

$20 Million

Tune.FM, a Web3 music platform on Hedera Hashgraph, has raised $20 million to enhance artists' earnings from streaming. They offer micropayments in JAM tokens and NFT minting for digital music, challenging the traditional revenue model of major streaming platforms.

$20 Million

Focus, a decentralized SocialFi application backed by DeSo, successfully raised $20 million in funding. The app aims to transform the creator economy by offering an alternative to traditional subscription platforms like OnlyFans and Patreon.

$10 Million

Root Protocol, a service designed to streamline digital identity management in Web3, successfully raised $10 million in seed funding. Root Protocol aims to be a "one-stop station" for decentralized identity, simplifying access to various Web3 platforms.

🤩 Jägermeisters’ Web3 Journey

Jägermeister, a brand with a legacy, is exploring Web3 to expand its digital footprint and reach new audiences. The company has been proactive in integrating Web3 technology, understanding crypto wallets, and embracing digital assets. Recently I had the opportunity to have Christoph Lange from Jägermeister and Richard Petrich from Value of We (the agency guiding them on Web3) as a guest in our w3.talk Podcast together with my co-host Marvin. Here is my deep dive on Jägermeister's Web3 Journey👇

🏃‍♂️ Initial Steps into Web3:

Jägermeister received a unique digital asset, a "Genesis NFT" from the Web3 brand Hape symbolizing their partnership with an existing Web3 community and entry into the Web3 space.
The brand faced the challenge of adapting to Web3 concepts, like understanding how crypto wallets function in a company setting. Internal education and knowledge sharing was important.

🥳 Collaborations and Community Engagement:

Partnering with the Hape project, Jägermeister focused on connecting the online community with real-world experiences, leveraging the shared interests in music, fashion, and culture.

They co-organized a rooftop party in New York for the NFT NYC event, marking their first major foray into community-driven events within the Web3 realm. Following this they held an event in London with elements blending the digital and the physical like the Hape Mirror that mirrored people’s dance moves in real time.

💡 Innovative Marketing and Use of NFTs:

Jägermeister used their ‘Jägermeister Hape’ as a visual representation and digital ambassador to engage both internal colleagues and the external community, to create a new figure that could represent their brand in this new space.
They experimented with providing free digital wearables to the Hape community, which allowed Hape holders to visually showcase their affiliation with Jägermeister through profile pictures and other online representations.

✨Future Strategies and Digital Integration:

Moving forward, the focus is on finding meaningful applications of Web3 technology that align with Jägermeister's goals.
They are exploring ways to bridge physical items with the digital world, exemplified by a campaign that incentivized opening a limited edition bottle to claim a digital token.
The brand is also developing tools that simplify the use of tokens for marketing and community engagement, ensuring accessibility for those unfamiliar with Web3.

🤓 Learning and Adapting:

Jägermeister acknowledges the steep learning curve in Web3 and continues to engage in a testing and learning approach through small, iterative projects to understand what resonates best with their community whilst remaining authentic to the ethos of the space and their brand.
The challenges they faced, like establishing a crypto wallet, were met with a willingness to learn and adapt, reflecting the brand's commitment to staying at the forefront of digital innovation and remain a love brand both today, and tomorrow.

🔮 Outlook for 2024:

Jägermeister aims to further integrate Web3 strategies into their marketing efforts, focusing on community building and providing exciting and fun experiences for existing and new audiences in both the digital and physical realms.
The brand is keen on continuing to explore and harness the convergence of various technologies within the Web3 and AI spaces to enhance customer engagement and brand presence in the digital era.

💅 My Tl;DR:

The brand's journey into Web3 is marked by well thought out, careful experimentation and a commitment to staying relevant in the digital age, all while maintaining the essence of their brand identity. Prost!

🗝️ For our Open House Day 2, we invited nearly 50 people to join us and the w3.hub family, where we worked together, shared coffee in the kitchen, and wrapped up the day with pizza and beer.

💡 The reasoning to join often remains the same:

Decentralization and remote work are cool, but most people don't want to work alone at home every day.

👉🏽 Web3 is all about community and interaction, which is only somewhat available in Berlin.

👉🏽 Here, these components come together. It allows people to find common interests and learn from one another.