Tether wants to build AI tools for developing countries

Tether wants to develop beyond being a provider of stablecoins and gold tokens. CEO Paolo Ardoino has announced that the company wants to build simple AI applications for users in developing countries. The initiative focuses on areas such as healthcare, finance and sport, and is intended to run on ordinary smartphones. At the same time, KPMG has audited Tether’s reserves, concluding that they exceed the company’s liabilities by $6.8 billion.

In short:

• Tether has more than 650 million users worldwide, mainly in Africa and South America.
• KPMG audited the reserves, including approximately 150 tonnes of gold in a Swiss vault.
• Ardoino wants to offer simple AI tools to users in developing countries, but has not yet mentioned a business model or launch date.

KPMG confirms reserves, including 150 tonnes of gold

Tether had accountancy firm KPMG audit its reserves, including the approximately 150 tonnes of gold backing the company’s gold token. The audit took place in a secret Swiss vault. It shows that total reserves exceed Tether’s liabilities by $6.8 billion.

This appears to settle a long-running debate within the crypto world. Skeptics had for years doubted the backing of the $183 billion in outstanding USDT, Tether’s stablecoin. The KPMG verdict now gives the company an official seal of approval.

From stablecoins to technology and AI

Ardoino says Tether has for some time no longer considered itself a crypto company. “We are both a digital dollar company and a digital gold company,” the CEO said in an interview with Fortune. The company now counts more than 650 million users, most of whom live in regions such as Africa and South America, where national currencies have repeatedly lost value.

Over the past two years, Tether has already invested in decentralised communication, agriculture and a network of solar-powered kiosks that supply electricity for a few dollars per month to people without a connection to the power grid. The next step is AI.

AI on smartphones for the poorest countries

Ardoino argues that even in the poorest countries, almost everyone has a smartphone capable of running a simple AI model. Tether wants to capitalise on this by developing accessible AI tools for sectors such as healthcare, finance and sport, so that everyone can use the technology in daily life. The applications are explicitly not intended as advanced models, but as basic aids.

Ardoino did not mention a concrete business model or launch date. Presumably, users would pay a small amount per month via USDT or another digital payment method. Meanwhile, the CEO warns of the societal risks if AI remains unequally distributed. “We already have a large wage gap that causes instability. This must not become a wealth gap multiplied by an intelligence gap,” he says. For those who want to learn more about AI-related crypto projects, there are now numerous developments to keep an eye on.