The Cocoon decentralized AI network, a privacy-focused distributed computing platform built on The Open Network (TON), is now live. TON is an independent layer-1 blockchain associated with the Telegram messaging application.
Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov announced the launch, highlighting Cocoon's potential to address both economic and confidentiality concerns linked to traditional AI compute providers. Durov unveiled Cocoon at the Blockchain Life 2025 conference in Dubai, responding to user demand for an AI platform that safeguards privacy and data.
Cocoon allows owners of graphics processing units (GPUs) to rent their computing power to the network. In exchange, they receive Toncoin (TON), the native token of the TON blockchain, for processing user queries and requests. According to Durov, the decentralized AI network has already processed its first requests from users, and GPU owners are beginning to profit from renting out their hardware.
Durov stated that centralized compute providers like Amazon and Microsoft act as costly intermediaries, increasing prices and compromising privacy. Cocoon aims to offer a solution to these issues. The system is designed to ensure users can interact with AI features, such as summarization and message drafting, without exposing private data to centralized providers.
Cocoon, short for Confidential Compute Open Network, is a decentralized infrastructure initiative combining blockchain, AI, and social media. Durov emphasized that Cocoon's transparent, market-driven design will make AI compute pricing competitive and censorship-resistant. He framed the initiative as part of Telegram’s broader mission to protect user privacy and digital freedom amid growing centralization in global tech.
Telegram itself will be the first major customer and promoter of the network, integrating Cocoon's capabilities into its mini-app and bot ecosystem. With over one billion users worldwide, Telegram's adoption could quickly bring decentralized AI to hundreds of millions of people. The company plans to use Cocoon to power AI features like message summarization and draft writing.
Max Crown, CEO of the TON Foundation, described Cocoon as marking “a shift toward an open, user-driven compute economy that returns control of AI infrastructure to users—rather than corporations that exploit it".
The launch of Cocoon aligns with growing concerns about centralized AI systems operated by companies like OpenAI and Google. These platforms observe all user prompts, data, patterns, and metadata during query processing. Cocoon's architecture challenges the monopoly held by Big Tech corporations, including Amazon's AWS and Microsoft Azure.
David Holtzman, chief strategy officer of the Naoris decentralized security protocol, noted that centralized AI systems grant governments and corporations significant control over individuals, potentially compromising user privacy, threatening cybersecurity measures, and enabling social conditioning by organized entities. He added that blockchain technology can mitigate these threats by verifying information sources, ensuring tamper-proof records, and facilitating trustless communication among nodes on distributed computing networks.
