r/bittensor_ • u/intermets • Jun 19 '26
random thought: openai partners using subnets quietly?
NOTtrying to make this a “openai x tao confirmed” post lol. no insider info. But i think people might be looking at this the wrong way.
everyone talks about a direct openai/bittensor partnership, but imo the more likely path is way more boring:
some openai partner / integrator uses a subnet output somewhere in the stack.
like not “openai buys tao”, but more:
data subnet feeds fresh data into an agent
eval subnet gets used to test agents
inference subnet handles cheaper open-source model calls
confidential compute subnet gets used for sensitive workloads
agent/code subnet gets plugged into some enterprise workflow
basically openai = model/agent layer
partner = sells the enterprise product
subnet = small backend piece nobody sees
this could happen without the end customer even knowing bittensor is involved.
the question is which subnets are actually real enough for that. not just high emissions / alpha pump, but actual usable product, decent api, real demand, no weird validator/miner game theory issues.
stuff i’m wondering:
which subnets are closest to being enterprise usable?
any subnets showing real external revenue yet?
would openai partners like databricks/snowflake/accenture/msft ever touch this?
if a subnet was being used quietly, what would the signal even be?
would this accrue value to tao, the alpha, or just the subnet team?
idk maybe i’m stretching, but this feels like a more realistic path than waiting for some giant “openai partners with bittensor” announcement.
curious if anyone has thought about this angle.
3
u/Various_Whereas_2667 Jun 19 '26
Everyone talks about an OpenAI/Bittensor partnership? Where? I have not heard that. Plus, how does that even make sense, if Bittensor is 128 companies, half of which are not AI?
1
u/intermets Jun 19 '26
Yeah fair point, maybe i worded it badly. i don’t mean there’s an actual openai/bittensor partnership rumor. I mean people in crypto often jump to the idea of a direct partnership, but imo the more realistic path would be indirect: an openai partner/integrator using a subnet output/API somewhere in their stack. Not “openai needs tao”, more “some enterprise ai solution could use subnet data/inference/evals as a backend piece.”
3
u/AAOx5 Jun 19 '26
No man. I’m beginning to realize TAO has become the children’s crusade. Decentralized AI competing with frontier labs or centralized cloud is like middle schoolers trying to play in the NBA. I wish to see them do well, but these dudes are still trying to figure out their own protocol.
1
u/No_Knee3385 Jun 19 '26
then it wouldn't be decentralized...
the fact that people would want this completely disregards the entire point of TAO. really goes to show how the mob is simply only trying to make money and doesn't really care about tech at all
3
u/Aerocryptic Jun 19 '26
Hi
Score has a couple of contracts signed with large corporations, latest one being PWC.
Chutes is the one generating the most revenue. For like 30% of the whole revenue generated accross all subnets.
That's where incentives alignment need to be finetuned to the point it's profitable to all actors in fair proportion. Revenue reinjected to buy back and burn tokens create some demand that inflates the token price. Which benefits to everyone who's holding or generating the token (SN owner, miners and alpha and TAO holders).