What is Vana?

Vana is the first network for user-owned data. It transforms how data is owned, shared, and monetized. The Vana L1 enables users to pool their data in DataDAOs while maintaining control and privacy.

Developers can leverage these decentralized datasets to create next-generation applications, such as AI models and data-driven dApps.

The "Why"

The problem: In today’s data economy, tech giants profit from the data you generate, while you get nothing in return. Reddit for example, earns $200M from selling user-generated content as AI training data. Worse, you have no say in how your data is used or who benefits from it.

The solution: Vana changes that by giving you ownership over your data. Through DataDAOs, you can contribute, tokenize, and share your data. You decide how it’s used, and you get rewarded for it. With Vana, data becomes an asset that empowers you — whether it’s used in AI development or other applications.

The "How"

Here’s how Vana works for you:

Contribute Data: Users contribute data to DataDAOs. Contributions range from social media data to IoT and sensor data, all securely stored encrypted off-chain.
Tokenize: Validated data is tokenized, enabling secure data usage across different decentralized applications, particularly for AI model development.
Earn and Govern: Users gain governance rights in different DataDAOs, influencing decisions about data use and getting a share of profit when data is used.

Vana leverages blockchain to ensure transparency, security, and decentralization in how data is owned and shared.

A Quick Example

Imagine you’ve been tracking your health data for years. You contribute this data to a Data Liquidity Pool on Vana. It gets tokenized, verified, and becomes a valuable asset in the hands of AI developers who use it to build life-saving medical models.

As these models grow and generate revenue, you earn a share of that — finally gaining financial returns from the data you’ve been giving away for free. Plus, you’re part of the decision-making process, helping shape how this data is used in the future of healthcare.

The Benefits

Data Ownership: Users maintain ownership of their data, with full control over how it’s used in applications.
Tokenized Data: Data is transformed into a verifiable, tradable asset for decentralized AI and data-driven applications.
Privacy & Security: Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP) and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) ensure the privacy and security of the data contribution.
Decentralized Governance: Participants influence ecosystem rules and data pool operations through on-chain voting.

Take Control of Your Data

Vana is more than just a platform — it’s a movement to help you take back control of your data and become a key player in the digital economy.

By joining Vana, you gain ownership, governance, and return from the data you generate every day.