Overview
NuNet is a computing network where people share spare hardware and others use it to run software, including AI workloads. A laptop, an edge server (a server placed close to where its data is produced), or a rack of graphics processors (GPUs, the chips most AI work runs on) can join, and NuNet matches each job to a suitable machine automatically1.
NuNet began inside SingularityNET, a decentralized AI organization, in 2018 and launched its live network on March 2, 20262. NuNet is designed so that people running jobs pay in NTX, NuNet's token, and providers receive NTX for completed work1, with payments settling on Cardano or Ethereum3. After a September 2026 security incident, NTX on Ethereum was paused4, and NuNet said enabling NTX utility will take more time than expected5. The project belongs to DePIN, short for decentralized physical infrastructure networks, where many independent owners pool real-world hardware.
Key Features
- Put idle hardware to work. The NuNet Appliance, a ready-made Ubuntu Linux package with a web dashboard, registers a machine on the network and keeps the owner's own operating system separate from the jobs it runs6.
- Jobs find the right machine on their own. NuNet's matching layer picks hardware based on location, response time, chip type, and cost, with no marketplace browsing1. A deployment can still name the exact machine that hosts part of a job, which suits organizations handling sensitive data7.
- Small and large machines share one network. The same NuNet software runs on a Raspberry Pi, a single GPU rig, or a 64-GPU data center rack3.
- Signed contracts and self-owned digital IDs. NuNet's design treats no participant as trusted by default. Each party signs its contracts, and identity rests on decentralized identifiers (DIDs), digital IDs that no single company controls3.
- Open code under a non-profit steward. NuNet's core Device Management Service, the software each machine runs to join the network, is open source on GitLab under the Apache 2.0 license8. The non-profit NuNet Foundation oversees the protocol through a council of three to six members9.
What to Expect
Hardware owners start by installing the NuNet Appliance and opening its web dashboard. From there you join an organization, a group of participants that share rules, roles, and permissions, which anyone can create10. The dashboard also includes contract signing and is built to take NTX payments from the people using your machine6. People who need computing power launch jobs from an orchestrator, the device that defines what to run, and NuNet handles the matching10.
Businesses that want hands-on help can hire NuNet Solutions, the commercial arm, for managed orchestration, protocol integration, and reserved capacity. Its listed deployments include energy-management agents for smart buildings and spatial computing (machines understanding physical spaces) for robotics with Auki Labs11. Auki's partnership announcement says NuNet will help place relay servers for The Posemesh, Auki's spatial computing network, close to demand to keep delays low12.
Project Catalyst, Cardano's community funding program, has backed completed NuNet projects. One connected GPU providers so Cardano projects could get computing power for machine learning13. Another worked on decentralized identity for the network's machines, including digital IDs derived from Cardano wallets14. Developers will find setup guides and technical references in the NuNet documentation.
In September 2026, someone with unauthorized access to part of SingularityNET's cloud systems minted 408,532,878 NTX on Ethereum4,15. NuNet said the token contract was not flawed4. SingularityNET said it paused NTX on Ethereum and switched off the affected bridges, which move tokens between blockchains15. NuNet then announced a hard fork, a reissue of NTX, to restore balances as they stood on Ethereum, Cardano, BNB Chain, and Base just before the first unauthorized transaction5.
