Today I saw @jason_chen998 write about Irys. I still remember the time this project had a spat with Arweave a long time ago. What left an even deeper impression on me, though, is that Aunt Dovey from @primitivecrypto also invested in it—those who know, know 🤪🤪🤪. Coincidentally, I recently needed to update my list of stealth investments in projects without tokens, so I spent some time doing research and decided to document it here. Actually, Brother Jian's post was already very in-depth, but I'll try to explain my research findings in simpler terms. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ First of all, @irys_xyz, although originating from the Arweave ecosystem, has evolved into an L1 chain designed specifically for future data needs, with a particular focus on AI, IP (intellectual property), and the storage and application of high-value data. 📌 Why is it worth paying attention to? AI thrives on data, but currently, 95% of high-quality training data is controlled by five tech giants, severely limiting innovation. The current mainstream blockchains (e.g., Filecoin, Arweave, Ethereum) cannot truly solve the problem of "data accessibility + intelligent processing": - Filecoin is slow, and its smart contracts cannot read data. - Arweave is expensive, data cannot be verified, and it leans toward centralization. - Ethereum's Blobs data can only be stored for 18 days, and Rollup projects are driving up storage space prices in a bidding war. ~~~~~~~~~~ 🚀 What has Irys achieved? It integrates data storage and smart contract execution into a single chain. Data can not only be stored but also "activated," with built-in logic for payments, authorization, and triggering mechanisms directly within the data. For example, AI models can automatically pay to access high-quality training data, and data uploaders can directly benefit, creating a virtuous cycle. I referenced an official cartoon video from Irys, which vividly illustrates the principle: data that was previously only used for storage can now be "played" like a rich and colorful symphony. ~~~~~~~~~~ 💰 Where is the market potential? I’ve become increasingly immune to VC projects that are all talk and no substance, so I’m more concerned about whether a project has a market and can generate revenue. The project team provided a figure: the high-quality data market could reach $3 trillion. Irys turns these "dormant assets" into programmable, tradable, and transferable resources. Additionally, IP (especially AI-generated content) requires new methods for copyright confirmation and revenue generation. Irys can collaborate with other IP-focused protocols, such as @StoryProtocol, to share this market. When Irys combines with protocols like Story Protocol, which focus on IP management and monetization, it can form a more robust solution for data storage, rights tracking, and automatic settlement. ~~~~~~~~~~~ One specific application scenario really struck me. Currently, there’s already a lot of AI training data in fields like music, novels, and code. I recently talked to a friend who writes novels, and she’s very anxious about AI novels potentially replacing most online fiction writers in the future. If, in the future, their articles could use Irys for storage, pricing, and execution, and Story for copyright confirmation and tracking, the combination could create a "long-tail automatic income generator" for creators. That would be pretty awesome. ~~~~~~~~~~~ Finally, With strong VC backing and the fact that the project’s data once accounted for a significant portion of Arweave’s data volume and transaction volume, Irys is already a relatively mature project. It’s not just a naive VC-assembled scheme; I think it’s worth a closer look. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out how to get involved. After all, I’ve been burned a bit recently, so I’ll see if I can connect with the team for further due diligence.