- EigenLayer and Sentient are building verifiable AI to automate DAO decisions while maintaining community transparency and trust.
- EigenCloud enables secure off-chain services, backed by staking, with support from a16z to expand developer adoption.
What if important decisions in a DAO could be assisted by artificial intelligence that is not only smart, but also has proven how it works? That is what EigenLayer and Sentient are trying to realize. Through a newly announced research collaboration, they are building a system based on verifiable AI—AI that not only makes decisions, but also shows the logic behind its decisions, transparently and publicly verifiable.
Interestingly, this is not just an idea that just stopped by on paper. A few days ago, EigenLayer launched a new platform called EigenCloud, as the technical foundation of this system. This platform unites various services that have been separated so far: from data availability, conflict resolution, to a trusted computing layer.
With EigenCloud, off-chain applications can run more smoothly because everything is guaranteed by EigenLayer’s own security mechanisms—including staking and slashing that are designed to maintain honesty.
https://t.co/MQEZ9ylVXF
— EigenCloud (@eigenlayer) June 20, 2025
Judge Dobby, the Digital Mediator
In early testing, Sentient and EigenLayer have introduced an AI prototype called Judge Dobby. What does it do? Becoming a “digital arbiter” in DAO governance, especially when it comes to assessing proposals or distributing community funds.
Imagine you have a community of hundreds of people who have to choose who deserves a grant. Instead of making a long and lobbying-prone vote, Judge Dobby can evaluate all the data and community rules—and then make a decision that can be traced logically.
Furthermore, this system is also designed so that it cannot run on its own. Every decision must be traceable, verifiable, and if necessary—refutable. So, even though AI is making the decision, humans can still monitor and correct it if necessary. This concept is perfect for DAOs that want to be agile but still fair.
Not only that, this step also makes business sense. The famous venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, aka a16z, has just increased their investment in EigenLayer by purchasing EIGEN tokens worth $70 million. This complements their previous funding which has reached $100 million.
The fund will be used to drive adoption of the EigenCloud platform, including services like EigenDA, EigenVerify, and EigenCompute that are ready to be offered to more developers.
EigenLayer Shows Strength Despite Market Pressure
On the other hand, although the news of the collaboration with Sentient and the injection of funds from a16z sounds promising, the price of the EIGEN token has actually moved back slightly. At the time of writing, EIGEN is trading around $1.03 after dropping around 1.7% in the last 24 hours. This could be just the effect of the general crypto market conditions which are not enthusiastic.
However, the fact that EigenLayer is now the largest restaking protocol on the Ethereum network—with a total locked fund of over $12 billion—proves that EigenLayer is the real deal. Especially with strong support from the community and modular infrastructure like EigenCloud, the path to mass adoption seems increasingly open.
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