NEAR Protocol

Founded in 2018, we built a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain to run AI applications. Our goal is to create an “agentic future” where AI can own assets, make decisions, and transact across networks. We designed our protocol to make AI system interactions simpler and more secure. We see ourselves as “the blockchain for AI”.

Our offerings center around “The NEAR Stack” for developers building and scaling AI-native systems. This includes NEAR AI, which provides the protocols, computing power, and infrastructure autonomous agents need. It supports encrypted model execution, verifiable compute, and multichain actions. We also offer Intents and Chain Abstraction to simplify the blockchain experience; agents can define outcomes, and we handle the routing, signing, and execution across various chains, removing the need for wallets, bridges, or tokens. Our sharded infrastructure provides global-scale performance, with transactions finalizing in under 600ms. It’s optimized for low latency, parallel execution, and supports thousands of concurrent agents.

We operate in IT Services and IT Consulting, specializing in Blockchain, Open Source Technology, App Development, Open Web, Engineering, Software, Decentralized Applications (Dapps), Web3, Sharding, and Ethereum. We work with builders creating applications like assistants, agents, marketplaces, or coordination tools. We have 51-200 employees.

We envision an internet where AI is not confined to closed corporate systems. Instead, we want an environment where AI agents can operate freely, transact securely, and protect user privacy. Our goal is to build an open AI economy where AI serves people, not platforms, ensuring agents act with purpose and infrastructure respects intent. Value should flow back to creators. As co-founder Illia Polosukhin states, “AI is becoming the most powerful force in the digital world. Our job is to make sure that power belongs to people – not platforms. That’s why we built NEAR.” We believe we are building the foundation for an internet where AI works for the user.

We encourage our developers to create a private, programmable, and permissionless internet. We foster engagement with a global community for real-time updates, support, and collaboration, building a community-driven and developer-focused culture.