Theta Labs has announced a multi-year partnership with the University of Oregon’s artificial intelligence research facility, Distopia Laboratory.

The Theta Labs team revealed the collaboration in a blog post published on Oct. 29, noting that the initiative will be led by Distopia’s Assistant Professor Suyash Gupta.

EdgeCloud is a hybrid cloud computing platform for AI, video, rendering and gaming. Theta announced the launch of the solution in February, while phase one of the platform went live in May.

According to the announcement, the lab will use Theta Network (THETA)’s EdgeCloud in the university’s AI model training.

The University of Oregon is a leading research institution in the United States, focusing on distributed systems, blockchain, and federated learning. Dr. Gupta has contributed to advancing research at the intersection of AI and blockchain, the Theta Labs team noted.

Theta EdgeCloud’s technology is currently applicable to artificial intelligence research across sectors like healthcare, media, finance, and bioinformatics.

Through this partnership, Theta Network aims to expand its decentralized AI technology by incorporating EdgeCloud in the academic sector.

Theta Labs’ collaboration with the University of Oregon signifies the growing adoption of decentralized cloud infrastructure in academic research. Additionally, cryptocurrency’s funding potential provides a key incentive for ambitious academic projects.

Such partnerships allow universities and other institutions to pursue advanced research with fewer budgetary constraints. Partnering with projects like Theta Network enables academic institutions to compete with heavily funded commercial AI labs.

In South Korea, Theta Labs has established traction by partnering with four of the country’s top five universities.