**Microsoft and Aptos Labs Partner to Build Aptos Assistant: A Chatbot Powered by AI**
In recent months, there has been a surge in the number of crypto entrepreneurs seeking to capitalize on the AI revolution. Various blockchains, including Solana, Avalanche, and Bitcoin, have integrated ChatGPT-based assistants to enhance their functionality. Now, Aptos Labs, the team behind the Aptos blockchain, a project that originated from Facebook’s scuttled stablecoin initiative, has entered the arena with a unique twist.
On Wednesday, Aptos Labs announced its official partnership with Microsoft to develop the Aptos Assistant. This chatbot is powered by ChatGPT and aims to provide users and developers with in-depth information and analysis of the Aptos ecosystem. Unlike some other crypto-related AI initiatives, which typically revolve around licensing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the Aptos Assistant represents a more ambitious effort.
Aptos Labs has already secured $350 million in funding from investors, and the partnership with Microsoft is a major milestone. As part of the collaboration, Aptos Labs will host validator nodes, or servers, that secure the blockchain and process transactions on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Azure. Additionally, Microsoft’s coding platform, Github, will incorporate Aptos’s programming language, Move, into Copilot, an AI model that assists developers in code completion. Microsoft will also facilitate discussions between Aptos Labs and prominent financial institutions interested in leveraging blockchain technology on Azure.
Rashmi Misra, general manager of AI and emerging technologies at Microsoft, expressed enthusiasm for this intersection of AI and blockchain. She stated, “The fusion of Aptos Labs’ technology with the Microsoft Azure Open AI Service capabilities aims to democratize the use of blockchain.”
**AI Startups Thrive While Crypto Investment Lags**
The partnership between Aptos Labs and Microsoft is particularly timely, as AI startups have raised nearly $25 billion in the first half of 2023, in contrast to the $3.6 billion raised by crypto startups during the same period. Despite this disparity, Mo Shaikh, co-founder, and CEO of Aptos Labs, believes that AI and blockchain are not competing technologies. According to Shaikh, while large AI models often process unverified information, blockchain provides real and verified data.
Shaikh emphasizes that if AI models were to integrate blockchain data, they would be less likely to produce false statements or hallucinations, which are regular occurrences for chatbots like ChatGPT. The practical implications of this remain unclear, but Shaikh asserts that Microsoft’s partnership with Aptos Labs, including the development of an AI assistant and integration with Github Copilot, represents a broader vision for collaboration between the two companies. He states, “We wanted that deep integration and co-development, rather than simply creating something hastily for the AI hype.”
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