Affine is a decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) platform operating as Subnet 120 (SN120) on the Bittensor network. Its core function is to benchmark, evaluate, and rank AI models in real time, creating a competitive and meritocratic ecosystem for AI development. The platform aims to provide a permissionless marketplace for AI agents and to apply its evaluation capabilities to automate the due diligence and financing processes for early-stage crypto projects, functioning as a decentralized venture capital (VC) alternative. ^{[1] [2] [3]}​

Overview

Affine was developed as an open-source alternative to centralized AI platforms like OpenAI's GPT Store. It leverages the Bittensor blockchain's incentive-based protocol to foster a competitive environment where AI developers can build, deploy, and scale their agents. These agents are continuously evaluated by a decentralized network of validators, and top performers are rewarded with Affine's native token. This mechanism is designed to drive innovation and quality in AI development. ^[1]​

The platform's broader vision extends to financial technology, where it aims to disrupt the traditional venture capital model. By using its network of competing AI models, Affine automates the evaluation of early-stage crypto and technology projects based on a wide range of data points, including code quality, on-chain metrics, and social sentiment. The objective is to create a transparent, AI-driven system for due diligence, allowing high-potential projects to be discovered and funded based on objective merit rather than personal connections or investor bias. ^{[2] [4]}​

In a paraphrased mission statement, Affine has been described as a "decentralized Shark Tank powered by AI." The project's official social media reinforces this vision, stating they are "Building the future of decentralized venture capital on Bittensor." ^{[2] [5]}​

History

Affine registered and launched on the Bittensor mainnet as Subnet 120 in May 2025. Following its launch, the project outlined a roadmap for its development. The first major cohort of AI miners was projected to be onboarded during the third quarter of 2025 to begin generating project evaluations. ^[2]​

For the fourth quarter of 2025, the team planned the launch of a public-facing Project Evaluation Dashboard, which would allow users to view AI-generated scores and analysis for various projects. An integration of the "Affine Launchpad," a mechanism for top-rated projects to conduct initial financing rounds, was planned for the first quarter of 2026. By mid-April 2026, the subnet had surpassed 5,200 token holders, indicating growing adoption within the community. ^[2]​

Technology and Mechanism

Affine operates on the Bittensor protocol, employing a competitive system of "miners" and "validators" to achieve its goals. This structure incentivizes participants to contribute to the network's quality and accuracy. ^{[1] [2]}​

Network Roles

The Affine ecosystem is composed of three primary participant roles:

• Developers (Miners): Developers use Affine's Software Development Kits (SDKs) to create and deploy AI agents onto Subnet 120. These agents are designed to perform various tasks, from running benchmark tests to analyzing complex project data. Miners are compensated in SN120 tokens based on the performance and rank of their agents as determined by validators.
• Validators: Validators are responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of the network. They continuously test and evaluate the agents submitted by miners against a comprehensive set of performance and quality criteria. Based on these evaluations, they rank the agents, which determines the reward distribution. To participate, validators must stake TAO, the native token of the Bittensor network, which grants them influence. They are also rewarded in SN120 for accurately assessing the miners.
• Users: End-users interact with the platform primarily through the "Agent Hub" and the project evaluation dashboards, where they can discover and utilize the best-performing AI agents and access insights generated by the network.

This creates a continuous feedback loop where developers are motivated to innovate, validators are incentivized to rigorously test and identify the best agents, and users benefit from a constantly improving, high-quality network of AI models. ^[1]​

Benchmarking and Ranking System

At the core of Affine's technical infrastructure is a system for benchmarking and ranking AI models in real time. A public leaderboard displays the rankings of all registered models on the network, each identified by a Unique Identifier (UID). ^[3]​

The platform evaluates models against a specialized suite of benchmarks designed to test a wide range of capabilities. Known benchmarks used by the platform include:

• bbh
• humaneval
• tau2_bench
• swe_bench_multilingual
• terminal_bench_v2
• swe_rebench
• browsecomp_plus

The leaderboard also tracks and scores models across several distinct performance categories, including DISTILL, GAME, LIVEWEB, MEMORY, NAVWORLD, and SWE. This comprehensive evaluation framework allows for a nuanced assessment of each AI model's strengths and weaknesses. ^[3]​

Decentralized Due Diligence Process

Affine applies its AI benchmarking capabilities to automate the due diligence process for early-stage projects. This "Digital VC" function replaces the traditionally opaque and relationship-driven process of venture capital with a transparent, data-driven system. ^[2]​

The evaluation process follows several key steps:

1. Project Submission: Early-stage projects submit their data, such as whitepapers, code repositories, team information, and social media links, to the Affine network.
2. Miner Analysis: AI models (miners) independently source and analyze all available public data related to the submitted projects. They generate comprehensive evaluation reports and quantitative scores.
3. Validator Assessment: Validators review the quality, accuracy, and depth of the evaluation reports produced by the miners. Their role is not to evaluate the projects directly but to assess the work of the miners.
4. Consensus and Scoring: Using the Bittensor consensus mechanism, the network aggregates and weights the scores from the most trusted and accurate miners to produce a final, decentralized evaluation score for each project.
5. Incentivization: Both miners who produce high-quality analysis and validators who correctly identify these top miners receive rewards from the TAO emissions allocated to Subnet 120.

This model allows for the meritocratic discovery of promising projects, enabling them to gain visibility and potential funding based on objective, AI-driven analysis. ^[2]​

Ecosystem Components

The Affine network is composed of several key components designed to support developers, projects, and users.

• Agent Hub: A marketplace and discovery platform where users can find and utilize the AI agents built on the Affine network. This hub serves as the primary interface for accessing the tools and services offered by the subnet's top-ranked models. ^[1]
• Affine Launchpad: A planned platform where projects that receive the highest evaluation scores from the Affine AI network can engage with the community for early-stage funding. This component was projected for launch in the first quarter of 2026 and aims to directly connect high-potential projects with capital. ^[2]
• Affine Treasury: A proposed future component designed to make strategic investments in the most promising projects evaluated by the subnet. Returns generated from these investments could potentially be used to benefit the Affine ecosystem and its token holders. ^[2]

Tokenomics

The Affine subnet has a native token that is integral to its incentive structure and ecosystem governance. The token is most commonly traded on Bittensor decentralized exchanges under the ticker SN120. However, it has also been referred to as AFN in project analyses and is represented on the official platform dashboard by the symbol Alpha (ⴷ). ^{[1] [2] [3]}​

Utility

The token serves multiple functions within the Affine ecosystem:

• Incentives: It is the primary reward mechanism for miners who develop high-performing AI agents and for validators who accurately evaluate them.
• Staking and Governance: The token is intended for staking and to grant holders the ability to participate in the governance of the platform.
• Access: It provides access to exclusive features within the ecosystem, such as participation in funding rounds on the Affine Launchpad. ^{[1] [2]}