Arthur "Art" Abal is the Managing Director of Vana, a company developing infrastructure for a user-owned data economy powered by artificial intelligence. His career integrates experience from government, international law, and technology, with a focus on social impact, data rights, and decentralized systems. ^{[1] [2]}

Education

Abal earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Queensland. He later completed a Sustainability Certificate at the MIT Sloan School of Management and obtained a Master's degree in Public Policy, Business, and Government from the Harvard Kennedy School. ^[8]

Career

Abal began his career as a paralegal in administrative law at the Australian Government Solicitor from February 2008 to July 2010. He then worked at DLA Piper in Brisbane as a paralegal in litigation and dispute resolution from May 2011 to November 2012, before transitioning to a lawyer in finance and projects at the same firm from February 2013 to December 2014, where he advised on major projects, including economic zones and special purpose vehicles.

In 2015, Abal joined the Government of Timor-Leste, first as a legal and policy adviser in the Office of the Prime Minister, managing legislative processes and state-to-state negotiations, and then as senior legal and operations adviser until May 2017, designing operational systems and advising on budget, procurement, and public financial management. From May to August 2018, he worked as a consultant at PUR Projet in Colombia, developing models to quantify social, environmental, and economic impacts in agricultural supply chains. He was a research assistant at Harvard's Belfer Center from January 2018 to June 2019, where he focused on measuring the impact of corporate finance models. Additionally, he served as an associate at The Cadmus Group from July 2019 to January 2021, advising clients on social impact, regulatory frameworks, and metrics.

Abal later served as manager of impact sourcing at Appen in Sydney from December 2020 to November 2021, supporting ethical data sourcing initiatives for technology companies. Since June 2021, he has served as Managing Director at Vana, overseeing infrastructure for self-hosted personal data and AI, which enables secure data management for individuals and supports technologists who utilize human datasets. ^[9]

Interviews

Vana Protocol

In an April 2025 interview with The Defiant, Abal discussed the Vana Protocol, which aims to create decentralized data marketplaces that empower users to own and monetize their personal data. Abal shared his background in qualitative research and experiences with data brokerage, which highlighted the value and control issues individuals face regarding their data. The protocol facilitates the formation of data collectives, allowing users to aggregate their unique data in a trustless environment and collectively bargain with data buyers, such as AI companies. Following its launch in December, the Vana platform experienced significant growth, with millions of data points recorded. Additionally, the introduction of a new token standard, VRC-20, aimed to establish data-backed assets, thereby enabling users to trade and invest in their collective data more transparently and foster a new economic model around data ownership. ^[2]

AI Recognition

On the WuBlockchain podcast in November 2024, Abal discussed Vana's innovative approach to tackling the challenges faced in AI due to a lack of publicly available data. The platform aimed to empower individuals through data liquidity in Web3 by allowing users to control and monetize their data, which had historically been confined to private and inaccessible sources. Abal described how Vana attracted investment from Paradigm by presenting a transformative idea, showcasing a capable founding team, and demonstrating inventive problem-solving abilities. He explained the roles of data liquidity pools and decentralized autonomous organizations in managing data quality and ownership. Throughout the discussion, Abal emphasized Vana's commitment to creating a trustless environment, ensuring data privacy, and preparing for future developments, with a plan to launch their mainnet soon. ^[7]

Presentations

Datasets

In a June 2025 episode of Vana Academy, Abal welcomed participants and shared his insights about the significance of data sets. He discussed his background in data collection, emphasizing the importance of understanding the value of data amidst emerging market dynamics. Abal introduced a structured framework for evaluating data value, which considered factors such as scarcity, depth, breadth, structure, timeliness, and strategic utility. Through his personal experiences, including field research in Colombia and his work with major tech companies, he demonstrated how data can reveal insights into human behavior and impact, urging participants to leverage their data effectively within the burgeoning market landscape. He concluded with practical tips and offered encouragement for participants embarking on their data collection journeys. ^[5]

Most Valuable Asset

In a presentation at Blockfesta in October 2025, Abal shared experiences from his past work evaluating the social impact of coffee sales in Colombia and Ecuador for Nespresso. Initially struggling with inadequate data collection methods, he realized that valuable information about people's lives was actually shared on social media platforms like Facebook. This led him to advocate for the importance of individual data ownership, highlighting how personal data has been underutilized by large tech companies for profit rather than solving societal issues. By emphasizing the potential for Web3 technologies to allow individuals to reclaim their data and participate in a new data economy, he argued that people could benefit more meaningfully from their contributions to AI models. He concluded by drawing parallels between data rights and historical land rights, suggesting a transformative shift towards equitable data ownership that could change economic structures. ^[3]

Panels

AI Decentralization

In September 2025, a panel discussion held by Project Glitch focused on the implications of decentralization for artificial intelligence (AI). The speakers included Mike Reilly, Jay Stanley, and Abal, who shared their expertise on the intersection of decentralization, data ownership, and AI technology. Abal described the origins and goals of the Vana Foundation, which aimed to create user-owned systems for data transactions. The discussion explored the advantages and potential drawbacks of centralization in the context of large language models (LLMs), with Stanley emphasizing the political implications of technology and debating the future of AI models. The panelists acknowledged the rapid advancements in AI technology but expressed skepticism about the sustainability and ethical implications of centralized data control by major corporations. Both Abal and Stanley emphasized the need for innovative policies that support data portability and the development of diverse AI models, advocating for a more equitable and decentralized data ecosystem. ^[4]

Decentralized AI Future

In a panel titled "The Full Stack of Decentralized AI Future” held during Consensus HK February 2025,  participants discussed the intersections of decentralized technology and artificial intelligence. Moderated by Momir (IOSG Ventures), the panel featured Abal, Dorothy Liu (AltLayer), Jiahao Sun (Flock), and Lulu (Monad). Each panelist introduced their projects, which focused on data ownership, app-specific rollouts, private computing, and high-performance blockchain solutions. Discussions highlighted the challenges Web3 faces in providing decentralized alternatives to centralized AI systems, the importance of blockchain in data management, and the potential for decentralized AI models to transform industries. While the panel acknowledged the speculative nature of crypto, they also expressed optimism about innovations, particularly in AI agents and decentralized computing, envisioning a future where users can benefit from owning their data and models. The dialogue concluded with reflections on future milestones, including the hope for a shift toward a more equitable data economy where individuals could be compensated for their contributions. ^[6]