Jed McCaleb, founder of Ripple and Stellar (XLM), announced plans to redirect $1 billion from his XRP fortune to new investments outside the cryptocurrency space. The crypto founder and Silicon Valley billionaire is now turning to his focus Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)which aims to create an AI system based on the human brain.
Ripple Founder To Invest $1 Billion In AI Research
In an interview with Forbes, McCaleb revealed plans to allocate nearly $1 billion of his estimated $3.9 billion in XRP to fund AGI-focused efforts. This move comes after his previous down $1 billion to build a private space station by 2025.
Related Reading
The new investment is expected to come through the Astera Institute, a California-based nonprofit research organization founded by McCaleb. Recently, the center has increased its focus on neuroscience-inspired approaches to AI development. Because of this, in addition to the $1 billion budget for AGI’s main project, McCaleb said he will pledge another $600 million directly to neuroscience research.
Ripple’s founder shared his ambitious goal of studying the human brain as a more efficient, potentially safer building model. artificial intelligence systems. He noted that researchers at the Astera Institute aim to use brain-computer interfaces to record patterns of neural activity in mice as they perform everyday tasks, such as navigating mazes. They will then record and use this biological data and insights to design entirely new AI systems that go beyond today’s popular transformer models.
In the interview, McCaleb expressed skepticism about current conventional AI approaches. He pointed out that while transformers, a type of AI model, can make predictions, they have trouble with long-term planning, decision-making, and accountability. He believes that using a brain-inspired framework can create an AI system that is easy for humans to understand and control.
Interestingly, McCaleb explained his time in cryptocurrency as a “big way” that comes from his deep interest in AI. He explained that he had always wanted to work in artificial intelligence but found the opportunity after stepping back from the cryptocurrency industry. He expressed strong belief in his ambitions, saying “AI will be the most transformative thing humans have ever created.” Although he remains an important figure in Ripple’s history, McCaleb left the company again he sold all his XRP in 2022.
A Quick Dive into McCaleb’s Role in Ripple and XRP
McCaleb first entered the crypto industry as a programmer with prior programming experience Mt. Gox is no moreone of the original Bitcoin exchanges. In 2011, he started developing the Ripple protocol and later hired key figures such as former Ripple CTO David Schwartz.
Related Reading
In 2022, McCaleb founded OpenCoin, later Ripple Labs, now Ripple. He founded a company on the side Chris Larsen and served as CTO while participating in the development of XRP Ledger (XRPL). After the launch of XRPL, McCaleb and other former founders received personal stakes worth about 9 billion XRP, about 9% of the total. This share contributed a lot to his wealth today.
Featured image from Freepik, chart from Tradingview.com
