Key Takeaways
- Masumi has welcomed a new AI agent developed by GWI to its agent marketplace, Sōkosumi.
- Sōkosumi was developed by a joint venture between NMKR and Serviceplan.
- Cardano’s Charles Hoskinson congratulated NMKR founder Patrick Tobler on the latest addition to the platform.
GWI, a consumer research and data company, has launched a new AI agent on Sōkosumi, an agent marketplace built on Cardano’s Masumi Network.
The launch on Tuesday, Sept. 30, received a publicity boost from Charles Hoskinson, who congratulated NMKR founder Patrick Tobler on Masumi’s latest milestone.
What Is Masumi? Cardano’s AI Agent Network
The Masumi protocol, first announced in January 2025, was developed through a partnership between the Cardano development company, NMKR, and the digital consultancy Plan.Net, a Serviceplan subsidiary.
The decentralized AI protocol registers agents as NFTs on Cardano, recording information about each agent and its actions on the blockchain’s immutable ledger. Users pay agents to complete tasks using Sumi Token.
Agents can also transact with each other directly.
A Marketplace For AI Agents
Having built the protocol to establish Cardano’s on-chain AI ecosystem, in June, Masumi launched its agent marketplace, Sōkosumi.
The first wave of agents were developed by NMKR and Serviceplan. But with the launch of GWI Spark, which draws from GWI’s wealth of global survey data to deliver consumer insights, Sōkosumi is closing in on its goal of becoming the “Fiverr for AI agents.”
With 19 agents currently listed, over 500 people from more than 50 companies have already signed up, according to Masumi.
Customers include Berlin’s public transport operator, BVG, which is reportedly using Sōkosumi agents for research and market analysis.
The On-chain AI Economy
Cardano isn’t the only blockchain being used to build open AI frameworks that integrate crypto payments.
Platforms like AgentLayer, Autonolas, and Fetch.ai are extending the agent marketplace model across blockchain ecosystems, creating new revenue opportunities for AI developers.
At the same time, many of these platforms are exploring new systems that let agents interact with smart contracts, empowering them to spend crypto, trigger on-chain actions, and even delegate tasks to other agents.
As the concept evolves, blockchain developers are upgrading the underlying protocols and infrastructure to accommodate on-chain AI.
Giza protocol is bringing machine learning inference to Starknet; Dfinity has successfully deployed AI models as ICP smart contracts; and Avalanche is developing coin-operated agents, to name just a few instances of the trend.
In the years ahead, these upgrades are expected to extend the range of AI functions that can be executed on-chain, creating new use cases for platforms like Masumi.
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James Morales is CCN’s blockchain and crypto policy reporter. He has been working in the news media since 2020, writing about topics such as payments, banking and financial technology. These days, he likes to explore the latest blockchain innovations and the evolving landscape of global crypto regulation.
With an educational background in social anthropology and media studies, James uses his platform as a journalist to explore how new technologies work, why they matter and how they might shape our future.
