Golem

Golem is a decentralized computing network built on Ethereum that connects users who need computing power with those who have idle resources. Its business model is simple: requestors pay GLM tokens to rent computing capacity for tasks like 3D rendering, AI model training, or data processing, while providers earn GLM by sharing their hardware.

The core value proposition is creating an open marketplace for compute, challenging the dominance of centralized cloud providers. It aims to lower costs and increase accessibility by letting anyone become a provider, turning spare CPU/GPU capacity into a tradeable asset. The main pain point it addresses is the high cost and lack of flexibility in traditional cloud services.

In the past six months (Feb-Aug 2026), Golem has focused on partnerships and infrastructure. The most notable development is a collaboration with Salad.com, which provides GPU cloud services to S&P 500 companies. This integration is still in engineering testing, but if successful, it could bring real commercial workloads to the network. However, the Modelserve project, which aimed to commercialize AI inference, remains paused due to insufficient market validation. The network also saw continued development of its yagna software (v0.17.6) and the Tor Project began accepting GLM as payment.

On the negative side, Golem has faced criticism for low real usage—only around 732 active providers and a small number of on-chain addresses. The GPU beta program attracted just 67 testers out of 300 applicants. The Foundation also sold significant ETH holdings, creating some uncertainty. Despite these challenges, the Salad partnership represents a potential turning point, though it is not yet confirmed to convert to production use.