USD.AI

The collateral behind USD.AI is unusual even by crypto standards: the graphics processors that train and run artificial-intelligence models. Issued through a Cayman Islands foundation and built by Permian Labs, the token funds loans to AI infrastructure companies, with their GPU hardware tokenized into onchain claims through a system the project calls CALIBER. Holders who stake into the yield-bearing version, sUSDai, effectively finance that hardware-backed lending, which the protocol targets in the mid-teens to mid-twenties percent range while carrying real redemption and credit risk. Anyone can hold, transfer or trade USDai freely, but following a 2026 change, direct minting and redemption at par run only through whitelisted, KYC-verified market makers and institutions. The model has drawn venture funding and large financing commitments, including a half-billion-dollar facility for one compute provider, betting DeFi capital can bankroll the AI buildout.