What if data, artificial intelligence models and computing power could be shared and monetised transparently, without relying on centralised platforms? That is the question that has guided the development of MERCAI (Marketplace for Edge Resources, Compute and AI), one of the most innovative projects launched within the dAIEDGE ecosystem.
The session featured Nuria Pazos Escudero, (researcher at HES-SO - Haute Ecole Spécialisée de Suisse), and Raúl López Blanco (researcher at Grupo de Investigación Bisite - University of Salamanca), who provided support to the team throughout the project. They were joined by Zoe Petrakou, director of the MERCAI project at AETHON Engineering, and Efstathios Vezyris, a sales representative and production and management engineer at the company, who were responsible for turning the conceptual vision into an operational platform.
The initiative stems from an increasingly evident reality: the artificial intelligence ecosystem is highly fragmented. Data owners possess valuable assets but lack efficient mechanisms to monetise them; developers need access to distributed datasets and computational resources; and hardware providers have underutilised capacity that could contribute to the training of advanced models. However, connecting all these stakeholders in a fair and transparent manner remains a challenge.
This is precisely where MERCAI comes into play. Developed as part of the dAIEDGE initiative and with the support of AETHON Engineering, the project proposes a decentralised marketplace where datasets, AI models and computing resources can be registered, shared and used within a secure and verifiable environment. The aim is not only to facilitate the exchange of resources, but also to ensure that every contribution is properly recognised and rewarded.
To achieve this, MERCAI incorporates blockchain technologies that enable the provenance of digital assets to be recorded, decentralised identities to be managed, and automatic reward mechanisms to be executed. Using the Solana testnet, the platform demonstrates how smart contracts can facilitate micropayments and distribute incentives among multiple participants without the need for intermediaries. In this way, those who contribute data, models or processing power receive transparent compensation based on their actual contribution to the ecosystem.
During the presentation, it was demonstrated how this vision has been realised in a functional platform capable of managing resource traceability, coordinating distributed training processes, evaluating model performance through benchmarking systems, and applying reward mechanisms linked to reputation and quality. These capabilities enable the creation of an environment where collaboration between organisations, researchers and developers is no longer dependent on closed agreements but is instead underpinned by open and verifiable rules.
The results achieved over recent months validate the technical feasibility of a decentralised market for AI resources and demonstrate that it is possible to build alternative models of collaboration where participants retain control over their assets whilst contributing to a shared infrastructure. The validation achieved at TRL-4 not only confirms that the technology works, but also provides a solid foundation for further exploration of new paradigms in distributed training, data monetisation and collaborative computing.
Beyond the technical achievements, the main conclusion of the session was that decentralisation could become a key element for the future of European artificial intelligence. At a time when demand for data, models and computing power continues to grow, initiatives such as MERCAI point the way towards more open, transparent and sustainable ecosystems.
For dAIEDGE, this project does not represent an end point, but rather another step in its mission to decentralise the entire lifecycle of artificial intelligence. Thanks to the collaboration between dAIEDGE mentors, academic partners and the AETHON Engineering team, MERCAI demonstrates that the decentralised AI economy is no longer a vision of the future: it is a reality that is beginning to take shape today.