Founder of RSS3 discusses AI and Web3 entrepreneurship insights: Trends cannot be predicted, stick to doing the right thing.

2023-07-08 15:00

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The characteristic of entrepreneurs is that they are not only entrepreneurs, but also pursuing self-discovery.

Source: R3PO

Author: Zelda

Within just two to three months, the information dissemination protocol RSS3 has successfully developed a new plugin called "Web3 User Activity", which has recently been officially launched on the ChatGPT store. This plugin greatly fills the gap in on-chain data in the AI field, allowing ChatGPT users to freely access massive on-chain data from open networks, and to have a more comprehensive and easy understanding and participation in the Web3 ecosystem.

The launch of this plugin is of great significance. It combines with ChatGPT to open the door to the open internet for users, allowing them to more conveniently experience the fairness and decentralization of the open internet, and have a wider space for information acquisition and communication. Against this backdrop, R3PO interviewed Joshua, the founder of RSS3, who is an experienced serial entrepreneur in the traditional social field. Joshua said that after navigation, search engines, algorithm recommendations and other information distribution methods, large language models are expected to become the next generation of open internet information distribution methods. Moreover, through AI interpretation and transmission of information, large language models can communicate with people in a more humane way.

Three years ago, when Joshua realized that a single application could not solve the problem of traditional internet content monopoly, he resolutely turned to the open internet and founded RSS3, hoping to achieve the freedom of the open internet, that is, efficient and secure information flow. This idea has also been supported by many old investment institutions such as Coinbase and GGV. In our communication with him, we discussed how AI affects the internet and Web3, and also discussed where the opportunities for entrepreneurs are in the current bear market, hoping to bring some inspiration to practitioners in the Web3 and AI fields and help them find new breakthrough opportunities in this rapidly developing field.

ChatGPT ecosystem, where are the opportunities for Web3 startups?

Since the release of the ChatGPT plugin by OpenAI, many have compared it to Apple's App Store. Jim Fan, an AI scientist at NVIDIA, stated on Twitter that if the release of ChatGPT is like the "appearance of the iPhone," then the launch of the plugin feature is like the "iOS App Store" event. He believes that the App Store is just the beginning, and OpenAI's overall plan is to become an "application for everything" - it can read documents, connect to various applications in real-time, and have an impact on the world.

Founder of Not Boring Capital and Web3 Fund Advisor at a16z, Packy McCormick, delves into how OpenAI is challenging the positions of Google and Meta to become the preferred gateway to the future internet in his article "Attention is all you need". He believes that the potential of ChatGPT is much greater than that of the App Store, as it not only attracts the attention of consumers, but also the imagination of developers. Currently, about half of YC entrepreneurs are using OpenAI's API to build products. "With a browsing plugin, it will do everything that search does and more, with customization; with third-party plugins, it becomes a platform, and all vendors will add more features to the platform."

A global wave of AI innovation and entrepreneurship is sweeping the world. Not only are giants such as Amazon, Google, Alibaba, and Baidu entering the game, but AI startups are also heating up. According to PitchBook, a research company, in 2018, when OpenAI first released the initial version of the GPT model, the total financing amount for the entire generative AI field was only $408 million. After the release of ChatGPT last year, this number climbed to $4.5 billion in 2022. And in just the first quarter of this year, generative AI startups have announced about $11.6 billion in transaction funds, involving 46 transactions.

For the AI industry, these transactions are just the first step of a long journey. This capital frenzy has also spread to the Web3 field. This year, there have been many financing transactions related to AI and Web3, but the market generally has doubts about the integration of AI and Web3.

RSS3's plugin launched on ChatGPT showcases the potential of combining AI and Web3. Joshua shared his insights on this trend and explored potential ways to integrate AI and Web3. He stated, "Where there is liquidity, people will be attracted. This is a real situation, especially for smaller projects that are more susceptible to changes in liquidity."

He proposed three possibilities for the combination of AI and Web3. The first is to use Web3 to solve the problem of AI computing power, converting dispersed computing power into computing power that can be used for AI training. The second is to solve the problem of training data through game mechanisms, allowing authoritative figures in specific fields to participate in the generation of training data, making the training data more biased towards their preferences. The last one is to use Web3 as an information source and feed it back into the AI model. This is what RSS3 is currently doing. Initially, this may mainly serve the application scenarios in Web3, but with the increase of information in the open Internet, it will gradually break through limitations and bring greater imagination.

So, will this scenario be exclusive to big corporate giants, and where exactly are the opportunities for startups? Joshua believes that although big companies have advantages in terms of users and information, smaller companies have a clearer positioning in certain specific core technologies and scenarios. For example, compared to the general language models of large companies, RSS3 has stronger competitiveness in processing and distributing decentralized and open information. It is believed that in vertical fields such as finance and healthcare, small companies will also have their own advantages.

"Currently, giant companies have an advantage in terms of traffic, and this advantage will not disappear immediately," Joshua said. For example, the emergence of social media has not weakened the demand for search engines in terms of people's aggregation and redistribution of information needs. Different tools solve different problems. Generative artificial intelligence may be able to meet the needs of traditional projects, but there are still technical challenges. For example, current language models cannot accurately identify the specific scenarios and needs of user requests. When you ask "Apple" what it is, the model may not be able to clearly determine whether it refers to fruit, phones, or technology companies. This requires further research and technical support."

However, RSS3 is now able to accurately track on-chain data. For example, when you ask who Vitalik is, the answer is no longer limited to wiki and his recent news, but instead, Vitalik's recent activities on the chain.

Breaking the Monopoly, RSS3 Creates a New Era of Open Internet Information Distribution

RSS3 is one of the few companies that deeply integrates Web3 and AI in the early stages of entrepreneurship. "When we had an artificial intelligence team, there was still some conflict between Web3 and artificial intelligence, because Web3 was considered decentralized at that time, while artificial intelligence required centralization," Joshua recalled. Although the situation was not ideal at the time, it has proven that we are doing the right thing, and we have seen the value of persistence.

As an experienced serial entrepreneur in the traditional social field, Joshua deeply understands that relying on one or two applications alone cannot solve the problem of internet content monopoly. Over the past twenty years, a few super companies have monopolized content while also controlling user data, leading to a centralized environment and stifling innovation - even if the application design is excellent, it cannot compete with data monopolists. In contrast, blockchain technology ensures the security and privacy of data through encryption and adherence to the principle of "code is law". With the rise of Web3, people are increasingly eager to break free from the constraints of traditional centralized platforms and have the right to create, disseminate, and distribute information.

In order to improve the efficiency and freedom of information circulation on the Internet, three years ago, Joshua decided to invest all his resources into the open network and founded RSS3. RSS3 is positioned as an information platform for the open Internet. Unlike traditional centralized platforms, RSS3 does not directly participate in the encryption process of information, but rather plays a role similar to that of a courier or transportation tool to ensure absolute ownership and data security of information.

In an interview with Joshua, he mentioned three core aspects of the company's future development: data coverage, information distribution, and decentralization. Firstly, RSS3 hopes to comprehensively cover the data scope of the entire open network, ensuring that the covered information is readable and effective. Secondly, in addition to information flow, search, and large language models, RSS3 will continue to improve and develop information distribution methods to meet user needs. Additionally, RSS3 hopes to achieve a higher degree of decentralization and ensure the openness and fairness of nodes.

Joshua revealed that RSS3 plans to open external nodes in August. In the early stages, there may be a limit on the number of nodes, which will gradually reach a dynamic balance. During the early stages when the number of nodes is limited, there may also be some soft requirements, such as early participation in testing for those who are related to the project or active in the community. However, these requirements will not be too strict, and RSS3 hopes to attract more participation from spontaneously operated nodes.

As far as business models are concerned, RSS3 is similar to Chainlink and The Graph. Their network structures can be compared to Ethereum, where Ethereum nodes are responsible for ensuring transaction security and confirmation, while RSS3 nodes index information and provide it to users in a specific way. Once the nodes are developed and opened to the public, they may charge a certain fee for information services.

Regarding the future financing plan, Joshua values working with investors who have a strong sense of mission and vision for the development of the open internet, rather than just financial investors who pursue short-term gains. In terms of the use of funds, RSS3 plans to focus on node and community development, as well as continuous investment in user experience and development tools to increase user numbers and enhance user stickiness.

Web3 Startup Inspiration: Trends Cannot Be Predicted, Persist in Doing the Right Thing

In the past few years, the cryptocurrency market has experienced significant volatility and challenges. What feelings and experiences can Joshua share? He points out that in the past, people generally believed that Web3 represented concepts such as decentralization and ownership. However, with the emergence of various projects, people began to view Web3 as a new stock market or investment opportunity, which led to a shift in the narrative from decentralization to focusing solely on tokens. This to some extent reflects changes in the market and people's pursuit of speculation.

However, "smart choices in the short term usually don't help much." Joshua gave an example that when we started our business, traditional social media projects such as Clubhouse were hot in the investment track. Joshua, as the founder of the Chinese version of "Clubhouse", was also sought after by many well-known domestic and foreign venture capitalists at that time. If Joshua had chosen to engage in these projects at that time, it might have seemed like a wise move, but over time, these projects quickly disappeared. On the contrary, projects like RSS3 are thriving in the Web3 field.

"Throughout the entire entrepreneurial process, including myself, we all face various temptations. Sometimes, we may consider pursuing things that may bring short-term benefits or following current hot trends, but in the end, we don't do it." He said that even though these opportunities may bring short-term benefits, they are not opportunities that belong to the entrepreneur in the long run.

The characteristic of entrepreneurs is that they are not only entrepreneurs, but also pursuing self-improvement. As an entrepreneur who has been committed to improving information flow efficiency and freedom on the open network, Joshua emphasizes that in the Web3 era, short-term temptations and trends should not be the basis for entrepreneurs' decisions, but they should stand on a broader perspective, focus on long-term social impact and value creation, and the society will naturally bring you returns in the end.

"Many entrepreneurs in the Web3 field did not anticipate the explosive popularity of cryptocurrencies, and similarly, practitioners in the field of artificial intelligence did not anticipate the sudden rise of large language models," Joshua said. In fact, the field of artificial intelligence had already experienced seven or eight years of silence before the rise of language models. Whether it is cryptocurrencies or artificial intelligence, trends are unpredictable, so entrepreneurs should maintain their independent thinking, stick to their beliefs, and persevere."

Currently, the cryptocurrency market is in a bear market, which requires entrepreneurs to have patience and perseverance. Short-term liquidity or market volatility issues will not significantly affect the development of the entire industry. Although the growth rate is sometimes fast and sometimes slow, from a development perspective, the popularity of encryption technology and the open internet will continue to expand.

What entrepreneurs need to do at this time is to adhere to their own values, focus on long-term social impact and value creation, rather than blindly following short-term temptations and trends. As Joshua said, "We must persist in doing what we believe is right and beneficial to society. If we are lucky, we may get returns early; if we are unlucky, we must persist longer."