Microsoft Partners with Aptos Labs to Merge AI and Blockchain

The new collaboration between Microsoft and Aptos Labs will use the best of AI and blockchain technologies to drive Web3 into the masses.

Why Does Aptos Need AI?

On Wednesday, August 9, Aptos Labs, a crypto project founded by Facebook ex-employees, announced its new partnership with tech giant Microsoft. The Layer 1 blockchain will use Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to help onboard new users to Web3.

Even though both blockchain and AI are being developed at astonishing speed, their adoption by the global population can be challenging due to user skepticism around the technologies. To facilitate and speed up the onboarding process, Aptos Labs joins forces with Microsoft to introduce Aptos Assistant, an AI-driven chatbot, similar to the distinguished ChatGPT. 

Aptos Assistant will help everyday Internet users bridge seamlessly from Web2 to Web3. The AI tool will be able to answer any questions regarding the Aptos blockchain ecosystem, and will guide developers through the creation of smart contracts and decentralized apps. 

"Artificial Intelligence and blockchain technologies are quickly converging for one important reason: they are both generational breakthroughs that profoundly impact the evolution of the internet and shape society," commented Mo Shaikh, CEO of Aptos Labs. "Together with Microsoft, our shared vision is to ensure that this technology is accessible to more people and organizations than ever before."

"The intersection of AI and blockchain is one of the most interesting combinations of emerging technologies and can generate transformational use cases," said Rashmi Misra, General Manager, AI & Emerging Technologies, Microsoft. "By fusing Aptos Labs' technology with the Microsoft Azure Open AI Service capabilities, we aim to democratize the use of blockchain enabling users to seamlessly onboard to Web3 and innovators to develop new exciting decentralized applications using AI."

Why Does Microsoft Need Blockchain?

There’s a reason why the tech giant wants to infuse its AI model into Aptos Web3 solutions. Microsoft explains that blockchain technology can provide more transparency to the AI-generated content, making it more credible and trustworthy. 

“For example, how do we know that LLM-generated outputs are authentic [and] trustworthy? How do we know that the training data is bias free in the first place? Blockchain-based solutions can help with verifying, time-stamping and attributing content to its source, thereby improving credibility in a distributed digital economy,” said Daniel An, global director of business development for AI and Web3 at Microsoft.

The choice of the Aptos network can be explained by its phenomenal speed – the blockchain can support up to 160,000 transactions per second.

Digital Payments and CBDCs

According to the press release, Microsoft and Aptos have also agreed to collaborate upon innovative solutions, such as asset tokenization, payments, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). This will also be part of the effort towards Web3 adoption. Additionally, Aptos will operate validator nodes on Azure to make its blockchain more secure and reliable.

Following the news, the Aptos token jumped by around 17% and is hovering at $7.36 at the moment of writing.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.