CoinClear

Ritual

4.9/10

AI coprocessor for smart contracts — well-funded infrastructure enabling verified AI outputs on-chain with optimistic verification, pre-mainnet but strong positioning.

Updated: February 16, 2026AI Model: claude-4-opusVersion 1

Overview

Ritual is building the infrastructure layer that connects AI models to smart contracts. The project's core product is Infernet — a decentralized oracle network specifically designed for AI inference, allowing smart contracts on any EVM chain to request AI model outputs and receive verified results. Think of Ritual as "Chainlink for AI" — just as Chainlink provides verified off-chain data to smart contracts, Ritual provides verified AI computation.

Founded by Niraj Pant (formerly at Polychain Capital) and Akilesh Potti, Ritual has raised approximately $25M from top-tier crypto VCs including Archetype and Polychain Capital. The team's pedigree and funding position it as one of the better-resourced AI-crypto infrastructure projects.

Ritual's key architectural decision is using optimistic verification rather than zero-knowledge proofs (zkML) for AI output verification. While zkML provides cryptographic certainty that a computation was performed correctly, proof generation is currently too slow and expensive for production AI workloads. Ritual's optimistic approach assumes outputs are correct unless challenged, with economic incentives (staking/slashing) deterring dishonest behavior. This trades theoretical security for practical deployability — a pragmatic choice given the current state of zkML technology.

The project has launched Infernet on testnet with early integrations, but mainnet deployment with full verification and token economics is still pending. The AI-oracle market is nascent, and Ritual's success depends on whether smart contract developers actually need verified AI outputs at scale.

Technology

Infernet Architecture

Infernet is Ritual's decentralized AI inference network. It consists of Infernet Nodes (operators that run AI models and respond to on-chain requests), Infernet SDK (smart contract libraries for requesting AI inference), and a coordination layer that manages request routing, response aggregation, and verification. Smart contracts emit inference requests as events, Infernet nodes process them off-chain, and results are delivered back on-chain with verification proofs.

Verification Approaches

Ritual supports multiple verification strategies with a modular design. Optimistic verification is the primary approach — outputs are assumed correct with economic penalties for proven fraud. The platform also supports TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) based verification for hardware-attested computation, and zkML integration for projects requiring cryptographic verification. This multi-modal approach lets developers choose their trust-performance tradeoff.

Model Support

Infernet nodes can run any model accessible through standard inference APIs — including LLMs, image models, classification models, and custom fine-tuned models. This broad compatibility means Ritual isn't limited to specific model architectures, supporting everything from GPT-4 API calls to locally-hosted open-source models.

Network

Testnet Operations

Ritual's Infernet has been operating on testnet with a limited set of node operators running AI models. Early usage includes proof-of-concept integrations for DeFi risk scoring, NFT generation, and on-chain AI agents. The testnet demonstrates functional capability but hasn't been stress-tested at production scale.

Node Operator Interest

The well-funded project and strong team have attracted interest from professional node operators (many from the Chainlink and oracle operator communities). The transition to mainnet with staking requirements and economic incentives will determine actual operator commitment.

Adoption

Developer Interest

Ritual has generated meaningful developer interest, particularly from DeFi protocols exploring AI integration (automated risk management, dynamic parameters, intelligent liquidation). The Infernet SDK provides clean abstractions for Solidity developers, lowering the integration barrier. Several hackathon projects have built on Ritual's testnet.

AI Agent Narrative

Ritual benefits from the broader "on-chain AI agents" narrative. As interest in autonomous AI agents operating on-chain grows, the need for verified AI inference infrastructure becomes more apparent. Ritual's positioning as the verification layer for AI agents could be a significant growth driver if the AI agent thesis materializes.

Competitive Landscape

Key competitors include Modulus (zkML approach), Giza (zkML), and various AI oracle solutions. Ritual's advantages are its pragmatic verification approach, strong funding, and team pedigree. The optimistic verification choice means Ritual can deploy practical infrastructure today rather than waiting for zkML to mature.

Tokenomics

Pre-Token

Ritual has not launched a token yet. The anticipated token economy involves node operators staking tokens to participate in the inference network, with slashing penalties for incorrect outputs. Users would pay tokens for verified AI inference. The economic design is straightforward but unproven.

Points Program

Ritual has operated a points program for early participants, suggesting a future token airdrop. The points have incentivized testnet participation but create the typical airdrop farming dynamics.

Decentralization

Node Network

The Infernet network is designed for permissionless node operation — anyone meeting hardware requirements can run inference nodes. The multi-model support means the network isn't dependent on a single AI model or provider. Verification through economic incentives creates trustless guarantee without requiring all participants to trust each other.

Governance

Governance mechanisms are still being designed. The project is currently team-led, which is appropriate for pre-mainnet stage. The long-term decentralization of protocol governance and parameter management is an open question.

Risk Factors

  • Pre-mainnet: Core product not yet deployed in production with real economic stakes.
  • Optimistic verification tradeoffs: Less secure than zkML — economic guarantees can fail if staking values are insufficient.
  • Demand uncertainty: Whether smart contracts need verified AI outputs at scale is unproven.
  • No token yet: Economic model and tokenomics are theoretical.
  • AI oracle competition: Multiple projects targeting the same "Chainlink for AI" positioning.
  • Centralization risk: Early network likely dominated by a small set of professional operators.

Conclusion

Ritual is one of the most thoughtfully designed AI-crypto infrastructure projects, taking a pragmatic approach to verified AI inference that prioritizes deployability over theoretical purity. The Infernet architecture is clean, the team is strong, and the funding provides runway for sustained development. The multi-modal verification approach (optimistic + TEE + zkML) hedges against any single verification paradigm winning.

The 4.9 score reflects strong technology (7.5) and positioning, held back by pre-mainnet status (network 4.0, adoption 3.5). Ritual's success depends on two factors: launching a production-quality mainnet, and smart contract developers actually needing verified AI outputs at scale. Both are plausible but unproven. Among AI-crypto infrastructure plays, Ritual is one of the stronger bets — but it's still a bet.

Sources