Phase AI Agent Blockchain Launches Mainnet With $45M Backing

Phase, a new Layer 1 blockchain built to serve an economy of autonomous AI agents, has launched its mainnet with a $45 million funding commitment from founder Kirill Eves, according to Cointelegraph. The Phase AI Agent Blockchain network went live on October 29 alongside Phase Proxy, a service that routes AI agents' web requests through internet connections shared by smartphone owners.

Unlike most blockchain networks, which depend on dedicated servers or token staking, Phase is designed to run on consumer devices people already own. Smartphone users can join the network by downloading the Phase application from Apple's App Store or Google Play, and participants can become validators with no initial token stake and no specialized equipment, reported Crypto Briefing.

The pitch is straightforward: as AI agents take on more work on behalf of people, those agents need web access, computing power, model orchestration, and payments. Phase aims to supply all four through a decentralized network of everyday devices rather than centralized data centers. Eves, who also founded global payments company Unlimit in 2009, has argued that control over agent infrastructure should not belong to any single company, and that ordinary device owners should share in the value the network creates.

The $45 million figure is a commitment from a single backer, not a traditional priced venture round. According to Cointelegraph, the commitment covers Phase's first two years of development and provides another two years of operational runway, and the company has no outside investors. Unlimit, Eves's payments business, operates in more than 180 countries and processes over $40 billion in annual payments, according to Beinsure.

Phase Proxy gives agents a way past web blocks

One of the first problems Phase is trying to solve is access. Platforms such as Cloudflare frequently block or rate-limit automated data-center traffic, which restricts AI agents trying to browse the web and complete tasks, reported Basis Desk. Phase Proxy addresses that by routing agent requests through mobile and residential internet connections supplied by devices participating in the network.

Pricing starts at 0.5 USDT for 1,000 requests and 1 GB of traffic, according to Beinsure. Phase compares that with average entry-level pricing exceeding $5 per GB among mobile proxy providers. Device owners who share their connections receive PHASE tokens, the network's native token, in return. The Phase AI Agent Blockchain design means validators need no upfront stake, lowering the barrier for ordinary smartphone owners to participate.

Security is handled through reputation-based consensus, which rewards reliable network participation and randomly selects validators, reported Beinsure. The system also verifies device authenticity and node software to reduce the risk of network control becoming concentrated among large operators. Reward allocations depend on node uptime, network participation, and customer demand for the services provided.

Model routing and decentralized compute arrive in November

Two further services are scheduled for November 2026, according to FinTech Global. Phase Router will act as a single gateway to leading AI models, automatically directing each request to the best option based on quality, performance, and cost. Phase Compute will draw on processing capacity contributed by devices across the network to run open-weight AI models, delivering decentralized inference capacity for autonomous agents.

The company also plans to develop its own AI model to serve as the platform's central intelligence, combining advanced reasoning, independent execution of complex tasks, and coordination of other AI models, reported Beinsure. Longer term, Phase intends to expand beyond smartphones to desktops, servers, and graphics processing units.

Payments on the network will run on a pay-as-you-go model. Phase supports on-chain transactions using stablecoins or PHASE, with support for the x402 payment standard and Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible smart contracts, according to Beinsure. Phase intends to generate revenue through its infrastructure services and use a portion of that revenue to purchase PHASE tokens on the open market, distributing them to node operators according to their contributions.

A crowded field for agent infrastructure

Phase enters a fast-growing field of companies building the plumbing for AI agents. The launch follows a wave of agent-infrastructure funding and product news, including security-focused agent platforms and tools that let agents transact without giving up custody of funds. Earlier coverage of AvalonX's emergence from stealth with AI security agents and Tria's agentic trading platform for AI agents shows how quickly the agent-infrastructure stack is filling in, from security testing to payments.

Questions remain about whether a smartphone-powered network can deliver the reliability and scale that enterprise agent workloads demand. Dealroom noted that the core services beyond proxy routing remain promises for now, with AI computing and model routing only arriving in November, and that revenue must eventually fund token rewards to keep the model running. The concentration of funding in a single backer is also a consideration, even as the network itself is designed to be decentralized.

Still, the mainnet launch gives Phase a live network to prove the concept. If device owners join in meaningful numbers and the November services ship on schedule, Phase could become an early test of whether consumer hardware can carry a meaningful share of the AI agent economy's infrastructure. Related coverage of supervised agents in identity operations underlines how agent deployments are already moving into regulated, high-stakes work where reliable infrastructure matters.

For now, the network's success will be measured in validators, proxy traffic, and whether agents actually route real work through it. The mainnet is live, the app is available, and the next milestone is November.