dTelecom Raises Seed Round for Decentralized AI Comms
Startup dTelecom announced it has raised a seed round to build a decentralized real-time communications network on the Solana blockchain. The company is targeting AI agents with its voice and video infrastructure, aiming to provide lower costs and latency. The platform is reportedly live and already generating revenue.
- The company was co-founded by CEO Petr Malyukov and CTO Vadim Filimonov, who previously collaborated on a communication app with a built-in AI translator called YOUS. Filimonov also brings experience from telecom engineering at companies like Motorola. - dTelecom operates as a Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN), which allows it to source bandwidth and compute resources from a global network of independent node operators. This model is the basis for its claim of reducing infrastructure costs by up to 95% compared to centralized competitors like Agora and LiveKit. - The project has received a grant from the Solana Foundation, validating its technical approach and integration within the Solana ecosystem. - The network is built to support the "agentic economy," focusing on providing the infrastructure for real-time voice and video communication between human users and autonomous AI agents or Large Language Models (LLMs). - To showcase its technology, the company has developed its own applications, including dMeet, a free open-source video conferencing tool with AI voice translation, and FROGY, a live-streaming platform with Web3-focused monetization for creators. - To accelerate adoption, dTelecom has launched a Startup Grants program that provides selected teams with six months of free access to its production-grade infrastructure, including unlimited voice and video usage.
