Alessandro De Carli is a technology entrepreneur and researcher, and the founder of Acurast, a decentralized computing network. He has led multiple initiatives in blockchain infrastructure and distributed systems, with a career focused on building scalable, secure digital networks and mobile security. ^[1]

Education

De Carli attended the University of Zurich, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems and Services in 2013. He continued his studies at the same institution, graduating with a Master of Science in Computer Software Engineering in 2016. ^[2]​

Career

De Carli began his career in 2004 as a security administrator at Ecosave GmbH, where he worked on managed hosting and web development until 2010. In 2009, he co-founded Papers.ch and served as its chief executive officer until 2022. While pursuing his degrees, he worked in IT infrastructure and operations at the University of Zurich from 2011 to 2016 and held an internship at coresystems in 2012, where he focused on load and performance testing.

Between 2014 and 2016, De Carli was an assistant vice president of technology at Credit Suisse. In this role, he worked on mobile banking security frameworks and led a mobile security team. This experience in mobile security later influenced his work in decentralized systems. In 2018, De Carli co-founded the mobile security services company Hypergate, where he remained until 2022. During this period, he also served as a strategic advisor to Alethena from 2018 to 2019. In May 2022, he co-founded the Acurast Association and serves as its board president, leading the development of the Acurast network. ^[3]

Acurast

De Carli founded Acurast as a decentralized cloud computing network designed to utilize the processing power of underutilized smartphones. The project's genesis stemmed from his previous work, including developing a self-custody Bitcoin payment solution, which highlighted the potential for decentralized computing. Acurast aims to provide a scalable, secure, and cost-efficient alternative to centralized cloud providers. The network leverages the Trusted Execution Environments and Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) within modern smartphones to ensure the authenticity of hardware and the confidentiality of computations. This allows Acurast to handle sensitive tasks such as confidential AI processing and data analytics. The system is designed to address what De Carli describes as "technological waste" by repurposing spare and old phones, creating a more eco-friendly computing environment with lower operational costs than traditional cloud services. ^[5]​

Interviews

Decentralized Computing

On the Brave New Coin podcast in October 2025, De Carli discussed his journey in mobile security and the development of a decentralized compute network powered by mobile devices. De Carli's professional background included leading a mobile security team at Credit Suisse and co-founding a global mobile security services company. After engaging with the cryptocurrency community, De Carli initiated a self-custody solution for Bitcoin and identified the potential of decentralized computing. He explained that Acurast aimed to leverage mobile devices' security capabilities to create a trusted execution environment, ensuring the authenticity of hardware within the network. The platform sought to tap into the vast computing power of consumer devices while also promoting accessibility and security, making it attractive for individuals to contribute their mobile devices to the network in exchange for rewards. De Carli also highlighted the importance of adapting to an AI-driven future and the advantages a decentralized network could offer compared to centralized cloud providers. ^[4]

Decentralized Compute Network

On the DePined podcast in May 2025, host Tom Trowbridge interviewed De Carli about Acurast, which launched a mobile-only decentralized compute network. During the discussion, De Carli explained his background in mobile security and detailed the innovative use of smartphones as viable computing devices within a decentralized network, emphasizing their sophisticated capabilities and security measures. He noted that while mobile devices have limitations compared to traditional servers, they can provide sufficient computing power for many tasks currently handled by cloud services, particularly in areas like AI and confidential computing. The conversation also highlighted Acurast's unique token economics, which incentivize device owners by rewarding them for contributing their hardware to the network, alongside mechanisms to ensure payments in various currencies and to burn tokens to manage inflation. With ambitions to reach over a million devices and provide wide-scale accessible compute resources, Acurast seeks to leverage underutilized mobile technology to revolutionize the decentralized computing landscape. ^[7]

Mobile-Powered DeFi

On the Unleashing DePIN podcast, De Carli discussed Acurast’s innovative approach to creating a mobile-powered, decentralized compute network to address technological waste. De Carli shared his background in mobile security and how his journey into the Web3 space began with a Bitcoin payment solution project. Acurast developed a platform utilizing underutilized mobile devices, turning them into powerful compute units while drastically reducing operational costs compared to traditional cloud solutions. The technology enables users to contribute spare phones as computing resources, fostering a decentralized and eco-friendly computing environment. The conversation highlighted the project's unique advantages, including leveraging existing mobile hardware to achieve superior performance and cost-efficiency. De Carli also mentioned various use cases leveraging their decentralized compute capabilities and hinted at future developments, including the eventual support of iOS devices, while encouraging listeners to onboard their old devices to participate in this transformative initiative. ^[5]

Presentations

Decentralized Cloud

In September 2024, De Carli presented at DePIN Day in Singapore on decentralized cloud computing, underscoring the importance of returning to Cipher Punk values in a landscape dominated by major U.S. companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which held over 70% of the cloud market. He emphasized the risks associated with this centralized control, including loss of data ownership, supply chain vulnerabilities, and a lack of censorship resistance, which could impact national security and individual privacy. He also warned against the potential misuse of machine learning models that could analyze vast amounts of personal data. De Carli argued for a shift towards a decentralized, open-source cloud network utilizing mobile devices, which are efficient and readily available for repurposing. He encouraged audience participation in this movement to help democratize cloud computing and restore control over personal data. ^[6]

Panels

Blockchain Future

In June 2025, De Carli participated in a panel hosted by Power Ledger and the Crypto Valley Association alongside Dr. Jemma Green, Stefan Rust (Truflation/Laguna Labs), Ralf Glabischnig (Inacta/Crypto Oasis), Lily Liu (Solana Foundation), and Oliver Feldmeir (Griffin AI). The discussion opened with remarks from Dr. Green on the current macroeconomic environment, including rising national debts and challenges in debt management, such as the limited impact of credit default swaps using stablecoins.

Panelists examined the potential of decentralized systems across industries like energy and telecommunications, reflecting on the historical cycles of centralization and decentralization. The conversation highlighted applications such as decentralized cloud computing and AI, emphasizing transparency, user agency, and resilience against centralized control. They also discussed the interaction between emerging technologies and economic factors, including inflation, as well as the role of accurate data in investment decision-making. The panel concluded with participants sharing perspectives on their ongoing projects and the broader potential for decentralized systems to reshape financial and economic infrastructures. ^[8]