Tether looks to ‘build the next generation of open AI models’ with new data division

Tether has established a new AI division within the company, the stablecoin issuer announced Tuesday morning.

The new division, named Tether data, is looking to hire an AI engineer and a head of AI research and development, according to Tether’s job recruiting website.

“Our goal is to build the next generation of open AI models, leading innovation in AI, through an accessible, transparent and privacy preserving approach,” the job postings read.

Tether now joins an AI hiring market that is being increasingly picked over by tech firms looking to capitalize on the AI craze. Meta has responded to the competition by extended job offers without interviews and sending personalized recruiting emails from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, The Information reported.

It’s the latest new business vertical for Tether, which also boasts energy and education divisions.

Its main business, issuing stablecoins, has grown increasingly dominant in recent months. Tether’s USDT currently accounts for around 70% of all stablecoins, a figure that’s held mostly steady since November, according to DeFiLlama. Mainly from interest on its reserves, Tether reported $2.85 billion in net profit during last year’s Q4.

In a blog post announcing Tether data, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino pointed to the company’s investment in Northern Data Group as being part of its AI vision.

Tether invested 575 million euros (equivalent to roughly $623 million) in Northern Data Group via debt financing in November. Northern Data Group houses a fleet of data centers with hardware like GPUs that firms can use for AI development. It’s one of only a handful of investments Tether has made overall.

In addition to building AI models, Tether’s AI unit will lead collaborations integrating AI solutions into “market-driven products” and advance the field of open AI, according to the company’s blog post.

Over the past year, the potential for AI integrations with crypto has spawned a raft of new startups and investor interest in areas like content verification and allowing AI model inferences to interact with smart contracts.

Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the On the Margin newsletter.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.