Kite is building the next-generation AI foundational transaction layer, aiming to create network effects by providing real utility within a decentralized AI economy. At its core is a trust layer—an open, decentralized network where autonomous modules can operate with full interoperability and verifiability. Kite's token economic model is designed to simultaneously incentivize the supply and demand of intelligent agent services. Kite's modular and composable design provides a unified infrastructure for identity, payments, and governance, enabling intelligent agents to securely authenticate, transact, and collaborate without the need for intermediaries.

In this article, we explore how Kite’s design creates a value-accumulating ecosystem, and how early-stage ecosystem incubation projects like Codatta can demonstrate measurable success within that ecosystem.

Codatta (Kite's data module): Demonstrating real utility

Codatta is a decentralized data protocol that provides access to high-quality, verified datasets for AI applications. A next-generation data marketplace, Codatta is fully on-chain and integrated into Kite's trust layer. Codatta specializes in curating datasets for healthcare, health, embodied intelligence, and other fields, where data quality and provenance are crucial. Each dataset includes verifiable metadata, traceability, and a built-in royalty mechanism for contributors.

Codatta is a prime example of Kite's technology, leveraging the Kite network's collaboration and identity capabilities to control and track data access. Data access requires verifiable credentials (such as Kite's identity passport), ensuring that sensitive information, such as patient health records, is only used by authenticated agents and under specific conditions, which can be programmed through Kite's smart contracts. Every access or computation is recorded on-chain, creating an audit trail of data lineage and usage. This traceability is crucial for industries like healthcare, where compliance and trust rely on proof of data usage.

As Kite's first data module , Codatta demonstrates how supply and demand connect on the platform. On the supply side, Codatta provides valuable resources (datasets); on the demand side, these datasets might be required for AI diagnostic applications or robotics simulations. Kite seamlessly connects these two: agents can query data trustlessly and with permission, pay for this high-quality data, and receive cryptographic guarantees of its integrity. Data providers receive automated payments and retain governance rights, all enforced by Kite's collaborative logic.

Codatta's early success validated Kite's ecosystem model. During its incubation phase, Codatta also received joint funding from Kite and the Avalanche Foundation's InfraBUIDL(AI) program—a $15 million funding initiative designed to accelerate innovation at the intersection of artificial intelligence and decentralized infrastructure. This funding not only provided Codatta with critical resources but also connected it to Kite's broader ecosystem, accelerating technology deployment and ecosystem collaboration. With this support, Codatta achieved several key milestones, such as the launch of the first autonomous medical data annotation workflow—combining the auditability of blockchain with the problem-solving capabilities of artificial intelligence, and highlighting the strong market demand for high-value AI assets.

Note: In 2025, Codatta also achieved significant results in community building and market expansion through in-depth cooperation with Binance, including Pre-TGE, a 12-week Booster program, and the launch of Binance Alpha and perpetual contract markets. For details, see: Binance Announcement

Network Flywheel: Building a Sustainable AI Ecosystem

Kite combines outcome-oriented design, modular architecture, aligned incentives, innovative token economics, and real-world utility (such as the Codatta module) to create a self-driven growth flywheel. Its mechanisms are as follows:

• Module-driven adoption: New modules, such as data providers (e.g. Codatta), computing services, or AI microservices, will introduce new communities and real-world use cases, thereby increasing on-chain activity.
• Adoption enhances underlying value: Increased activity increases demand for Kite resources, which in turn creates fees and rewards for validators, enhances the security and decentralization of the network, and thus attracts the interest of more enterprise and institutional participants.
• Enhanced value capture: Because modules collaborate, value flows freely between them, creating a flywheel effect that stimulates continuous value creation. Kite's economic system captures the value of these integrated activities and rewards participants and contributors.

This flywheel emphasizes the composability and interoperability between modules, avoiding the value fragmentation caused by "island services." Each successful module is based on practical results rather than hype. The "protocol-to-protocol" token model ensures that incentives are aligned around practical value and long-term participation.

Why Kite is the infrastructure for the next generation decentralized AI economy

Beyond Blockspace, Focus on Real Outcomes: Rethinking the Value of Layer 1 Through Real Utility

Most blockchains commercialize their block space through transaction volume, often favoring short-term speculation and other behaviors. Kite, on the other hand, focuses on "real outcomes," organizing AI workflows through a programmable coordination layer. Value is measured by whether a task is successfully completed and verifiable data is used. For example, a reliable diagnosis delivered by AI in medical diagnosis is a measure of value. Kite drives real output, not virtual prosperity.

Modular, composable, and EVM-compatible architecture design

Kite's most significant advantage lies in its modularity and composability. Unlike a "monolithic chain" or isolated sub-chain structure, Kite is a network of modules interconnected by a shared collaboration layer. Kite is fully EVM-compatible and designed for cross-chain interoperability, enabling seamless integration with the existing Web 3 ecosystem.

This collaboration layer unifies the three key functions of verifiable identity, rule enforcement, and on-chain settlement, enabling secure collaboration between modules and the trusted exchange of data and value. The entire system operates efficiently without intermediaries. This design avoids the "value trap" of traditional fragmented ecosystems. All modules share the same incentive logic, allowing value to flow freely within the network. Each new module enhances the utility of the entire network, driving greater usage and forming a growth flywheel.

Progressive decentralization and incentive alignment

Kite adopts a strategy of progressive decentralization, initially leveraging the Avalanche framework to build a large validator set and gradually delegating governance to the community. Kite's Proof of Artificial Intelligence (PoAI) mechanism and contribution tracking system reward results based on performance, incentivizing collaboration among all stakeholders, from developers to data providers, thereby reducing noise and fostering a collaborative AI ecosystem.

Ecological alignment

Kite utilizes a protocol-to-protocol reward distribution mechanism, prioritizing builders, modules, and partners, and aligning rewards with actual performance. On-chain rules provide transparency, ensuring rewards are directly tied to valuable contributions, such as data validation and governance. Kite also provides additional value through staking rewards and long-term utility, creating a positive cycle: module success drives network value.

Kite is based on a new collaborative paradigm that eliminates information silos and aligns incentives for all network participants. Projects like Codatta are solving real-world problems, such as building trusted medical AI processes and providing verified and secure data. Kite's success is measured by the impact each module has on real-world applications, such as improving diagnostics and accelerating medical research. Kite's economic system fosters a community of builders, united by shared ownership and governance mechanisms.

Replace "throughput-oriented" with "results-oriented"

By focusing on outcomes rather than throughput, Kite challenges the traditional Layer 1 paradigm. Networks based on "legacy subnets" or lacking programmability and modular architectures have demonstrated their limitations: resource fragmentation and the lack of a unified collaboration layer have trapped value in fragmented corners and stagnated network effects.

In Kite's network economy, everyone, from AI scientists to data contributors to everyday participants, is part of a common network with clear and fair rules. The result: an environment where innovation is no longer constrained by technological silos or misaligned incentives.

We're already seeing projects like Codatta leveraging Kite to solve real-world problems (e.g., trusted healthcare AI data pipelines). We'll soon release more modules, from AI agents and models to data and AI infrastructure, all built on Kite's underlying infrastructure. Each module contributes to Kite's vision: building a decentralized, modular network where agents and services can easily discover each other, exchange value, build trust, and evolve together.

Kite's success criteria: Beyond traditional encryption indicators, focusing on real value

The success of the Kite ecosystem will be measured not only by traditional on-chain metrics, but also by the value created and business impact generated by the collective AI-powered applications on the network. The value of the Kite ecosystem will be derived from efficient workflows and a community of developers and AI users united by a shared interest in a jointly owned and governed decentralized AI ecosystem.