Autonomys

Autonomys (formerly Subspace) operates the Autonomys Network, a layer-zero/layer-1 blockchain built on the Subspace Protocol that uses a Proof-of-Archival-Storage (PoAS) consensus in which participants ("farmers") pledge disk space rather than compute power. The architecture separates consensus from execution: a consensus chain, a Distributed Storage Network (DSN) that permanently archives data, and decoupled execution environments ("domains"), including an EVM-compatible runtime. Network roles include farmers, operators (who validate and execute transactions on domains), nominators (who stake tokens to operators), and timekeepers (who run the Proof-of-Time randomness beacon). The network's native token is $AI3, and mainnet has been live since Q4 2024.

The company positions the network as a foundation layer for what it calls "AI3.0." Its product family, the Auto Suite, includes Auto Drive (content-addressed permanent storage with an S3-compatible API, REST API, TypeScript SDK, rclone support, web app and MCP/agent-framework access), the Auto SDK, Auto ID (a self-sovereign identity framework), Space Acres (a GUI farming application) and a block explorer/staking portal. Files uploaded to Auto Drive are sharded and erasure-coded across independent nodes and returned with a verification hash; optional client-side AES-256-GCM encryption is user-controlled, with keys held only by the user.

The Autonomys Agents (Auto Agents) framework lets developers build on-chain AI agents whose interactions, decisions and reasoning chains are permanently archived on the DSN, providing tamper-evident agent memory. It supports customizable agent personalities, an extensible tool system, an orchestration layer of Think/Plan/Execute engines, tiered memory (local, domain-specific and permanent), multiple model providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, Llama, DeepSeek), and integrations with X/Twitter, GitHub, Slack, Notion, scheduled research, a CLI and blockchain interactions. Argu-mint (@0xargumint) is the company's demonstration agent, described as the first AI agent to store its full social interaction history permanently on-chain.

Founding story

Jeremiah Wagstaff and Nazar Mokrynskyi, described as open-source protocol developers, met on GitHub and co-founded Subspace Labs around a shared goal of a community-owned, decentralized base layer for Internet-scale dApps in which users control their own data. Their early research (2018–2020) was funded by U.S. National Science Foundation and Web3 Foundation grants.

Business model

The network sells permanent storage capacity: users buy storage credits with $AI3 tokens (a free tier of 20 MB per month, with paid packages such as 1 GB and 100 GB, and custom amounts), paying once for permanent storage rather than a recurring subscription or pinning fee. Fiat card checkout is described as forthcoming. Network participants — farmers, operators and nominators — earn $AI3 rewards and fees for storing data, validating transactions and staking.

Usage-based, prepaid storage credits denominated in $AI3 (quoted at 0.27 AI3 per MB at the time of capture; 1 GB listed at 26.87 AI3 ≈ $0.15 and 100 GB at 275.14 AI3 ≈ $1.54), with credits valid for 90 days and a free monthly allowance. Protocol-level $AI3 rewards and transaction fees compensate network participants.

Traction

Cumulative incentivized testnet participation reported by the company totals 100k+ farmers and 400 PiB+ pledged across Aries, Gemini I–3h, Stake Wars and Space Race; the Space Race event drew 2k+ farmers in 24 hours and 215 PiB in 9 days. A network snapshot on the homepage lists 182 nodes online, 21.71 PB pledged, 240 ms average retrieval and a 256x replication factor. The GitHub organization hosts 160 repositories, with the Subspace reference implementation at roughly 403 stars.

Latest developments

The public site emphasizes Auto Drive permanent storage and AI agent memory, lists mainnet as live since Q4 2024 with the $AI3 token, and notes that fiat card checkout for storage credits is not yet available. Documentation references a Chronos testnet where features such as operator registration are being tested before mainnet release. GitHub repositories show commit activity through mid-2026 and site footers are dated 2026.