Competition in the fast‑growing decentralized compute market has been intensifying. Companies using blockchain to deliver decentralized computing services are increasingly aligning their strategies with the AI boom.
Within this space, Render [RNDR] and Akash Network [AKT] have emerged as leading rivals, vying for dominance in decentralized physical infrastructure networks.
Render Network races for AI space integration
Render has expanded into the AI computing space by evolving from a decentralized rendering platform into a DePIN designed for AI workloads.
The network taps into enterprise‑grade GPUs and idle consumer resources to support AI training, inference, and generative media workflows.
For strategic positioning, Render dedicated a subnet to handle AI and general computing workloads. In doing so, Render moved beyond traditional 3D rendering tasks.
Additionally, the network developed API access for AI developers, allowing them to use its GPU. Through these major AI integrations, Render secured significant partnerships with AI firms to optimize AI models.
Firstly, Render partnered with AI giant NVIDIA and integrated its technology with Nvidia Omniverse for data generation.
Other Strategic partnerships have included Stability AI, Luma Labs, Black Forest Labs, and Endeavor. These collaborations have positioned Render as a key player in the AI compute sector.
Akash Network – The decentralized supercloud
Amid the AI boom, Akash Network emerged as a key provider of a permissionless alternative to centralized cloud providers for AI workloads.
AKT has served as a decentralized supercloud, providing access to underutilized GPUs and compute resources for AI model training.
The network’s primary offering for AI is its widespread marketplace for high-performance GPUs such as Nvidia H100s, A6000s, and RTX 4090s.
Through this robust marketplace, Akash offers essential computing power for AI tasks at a lower cost than centralized services.
As a result of its expansion and AI integration, the demand for GPUs has resulted in major collaborations. For example, after the acquisition of Brev.dev, Nvidia partnered with Akash and directly owns Akash tokens.
Also, Prime Intelect partnered with Akash and launched a decentralized platform for AI model training using its GPUs. Other collaborations have included Venice, NeuralAI, Flock, etc.
AKT and RNDR – A comparative analysis
Render and Akash Network have targeted AI computing centralization by pooling underutilized GPU power globally.
While their core use cases differ, they both aim to decentralize AI by offering distinct solutions within the prevailing space. For now, both networks have achieved tremendous success in integrating with and partnering with other AI agents, positioning them for an AI-driven future.
Despite the strides made towards integration, the networks’ native tokens, RNDR and AKT, have failed to ride the AI wave.
AKT has dropped sharply, falling 89% over the past year and 30.9% in the last month, a clear sign of strong bearish pressure. RNDR has shown a similar trend, with Render declining 85% year‑on‑year and 35% on the monthly chart.
Source: Token Terminal
Such a dip indicated a lack of demand and network usage, weakening fundamentals. As such, Render’s Daily Active Users dipped from 1.5k to below 100, at press time.
At the same rate, Weekly Active Users dropped from 17k to hover below 500, indicating an ecosystem dried up.
Source: Artemis
Equally, Akash Network’s adoption slowed down significantly with New Leases dropping from 1.3k to 596 while Active Providers remained below 100, around 55.
Who is winning the battle?
In the race for AI compute dominance, both Akash Network and Render have established themselves as major contenders.
Their rivalry is less about confrontation and more about capturing market share. In the DePIN segment, Render leads with a market cap of over $721 million, far ahead of Akash’s $113 million, as of writing.
Still, the battle for AI compute is only just beginning. The ultimate winner will be determined by which network can successfully decentralize AI computing and challenge the existing centralized model.
Final Thoughts
- Akash Network and Render sought to break out of centralization in AI compute, creating room for decentralization.
- Both Render and Akash Network native tokens have failed to ride the AI wave, and are down over 80% the past year.