Decentralized AI Network Cocoon Challenges Big Tech's Cloud with Privacy-First Model

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced the launch of Cocoon, a decentralized AI compute network built on the TON blockchain, during his keynote at the Blockchain Life 2025 conference in Dubai, according to Decrypt.

Cocoon operates as a decentralized marketplace where individuals can monetize unused GPU capacity, earning TON cryptocurrency in exchange for providing computing power. This infrastructure allows developers to process AI queries without exposing user data to centralized providers, addressing growing concerns about data privacy in AI systems, as reported by Coinotag. The network leverages TON's high-throughput, sharded blockchain architecture to handle massive AI workloads while maintaining transparency and dynamic pricing based on supply and demand, a point highlighted by The Outpost.

Telegram, with its billion-strong user base, will integrate Cocoon into its ecosystem, powering AI features in Mini Apps and bots starting November 2025. Decrypt also noted that the platform's confidential computing approach encrypts user prompts, data, and metadata throughout the processing pipeline, ensuring privacy even from GPU providers performing the computations. This aligns with Telegram's long-standing commitment to digital freedom, as emphasized by Durov, who criticized the erosion of privacy in centralized systems, a theme The Outpost covered in its reporting.

The project has secured significant backing, including a "substantial investment" from AlphaTON Capital, a Nasdaq-listed TON treasury company. Decrypt reported that AlphaTON plans to deploy next-generation, high-memory GPUs across strategic data centers, supporting advanced AI models like DeepSeek and Qwen. This infrastructure aims to compete with centralized cloud giants like AWS and Azure, which Durov positioned as monopolistic threats to digital autonomy, a point Coinotag's coverage echoed.

Cocoon's decentralized model introduces a supply-and-demand pricing mechanism, potentially offering developers more cost-effective solutions than traditional cloud providers. However, this approach introduces uncertainties around service reliability compared to centralized alternatives, as The Outpost observed. The network joins a growing wave of decentralized compute projects, such as Akash Network and Render Network, but differentiates itself through Telegram's massive user base and TON's scalability, a comparison Decrypt made in its analysis.

Max Crown, CEO of the TON Foundation, described Cocoon as a "shift toward an open, user-driven compute economy," emphasizing its potential to redefine AI interactions for billions of users, a perspective Decrypt highlighted. Durov, meanwhile, framed the project as part of Telegram's evolution from a messaging platform to a broader decentralized infrastructure, reflecting his broader skepticism of centralized systems—from fiat currency to AI—an evolution covered by CryptoTimes.

Cocoon's launch coincides with heightened scrutiny of centralized AI systems, where providers like OpenAI and Google retain access to user data. By encrypting data end-to-end, Cocoon aims to restore user control over computation and privacy, a point Coinotag raised. The network's integration with Telegram's ecosystem could accelerate adoption, particularly as AI features become more integral to everyday digital interactions, a trend Decrypt discussed.

Critics note that decentralized networks face challenges in maintaining consistent performance and security. However, proponents argue that Cocoon's model democratizes access to AI resources, potentially reducing costs by up to 50% compared to centralized clouds, as Coinotag reported based on comparable projects.

Applications for GPU providers and developers opened immediately after the announcement, with the public beta set for November 2025, according to Panewslab. As Cocoon scales, its success will depend on sustaining demand from developers while ensuring the reliability of its decentralized infrastructure.

For now, the project represents a bold challenge to Big Tech's AI dominance, backed by Telegram's global reach and TON's blockchain innovation. Whether it can sustain its vision of a privacy-first, user-controlled AI economy remains to be seen.

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