Technological progress rarely follows a straight line—it advances in leaps and bounds. Every few decades, a groundbreaking innovation creates new possibilities, either by introducing a previously unknown technology to the market or because enough people gain access to the necessary devices and financial resources to adopt it. The last major leaps were the internet and mobile communications, which have enabled billions of people to stay connected anytime, anywhere.
The Emergence of Blockchain and AI
About 20 years ago, the first Bitcoins were traded—a digital currency that was nearly worthless at the time but, as of August 2025, is valued at roughly $100,000 per unit. Bitcoin is the most prominent example of blockchain, a decentralized technology with the potential to act as the “little sister” of artificial intelligence (AI) in sparking the next technological paradigm shift. As the Gartner Hype Cycle illustrates, the short-term impacts of blockchain and AI are often overestimated, while their long-term potential is usually underestimated. The true value lies not in the technologies themselves but in their applications. Globally, there’s a fervent search for applications that can justify the billions invested in these technologies. In short, the money isn’t made with blockchain or AI alone, but with solutions that deliver real value.
The Synergy of Blockchain and AI
The greatest opportunity lies in combining these two technologies: blockchain provides secure, decentralized data management, while AI enables intelligent, adaptive automation. However, finding truly valuable applications is far from easy. Even OpenAI struggled for a long time to identify meaningful use cases for its Large Language Model until ChatGPT—almost by chance—became a breakthrough.
“The honest answer is that we have no idea,” Altman replied. “We have never made any revenue, we have no current plans to make revenue, we have no idea how we may one day generate revenue. We have made a soft promise to investors that ‘once we’ve built this sort of generally intelligent system, basically we will ask it to figure out a way to generate an investment return for you.’” (Sam Altman, 2018)
The Importance of User-Friendly Access
The success of new technologies depends less on their mere existence and more on intuitive, user-friendly access that immediately demonstrates their value. A prime example is the iPhone. No one demanded it, and no studies recommended developing a touchscreen smartphone. Yet it became a massive success. Its true potential only unfolded when Steve Jobs overcame his resistance to third-party apps, leading to the creation of the App Store. Even the iPhone’s visionary creator initially underestimated its possibilities—the market showed him what was truly possible.
Datarella's Approach with MOBIX
The Datarella team has taken this lesson to heart. In 2023, we launched the MOBIX app as an ambitious “long shot.” Drawing on years of experience, we knew that blockchain and AI are still in their infancy and rarely ready for market-ready products. Our question was: How can we—contrary to the trend of rapid, artificially driven growth—develop a product that meaningfully combines blockchain and AI to deliver real value? The key was a firm commitment: staying true to the vision even in tough times and consistently pursuing the chosen path. This requires backbone, especially when a project like MOBIX is funded entirely from our own resources, without venture capital.
Introducing the MOBIX Mobility Marketplace
By the end of 2025, MOBIX will have completed its first phase of user growth. Now, we’re entering Phase 2 with the launch of the MOBIX Mobility Marketplace, starting with the “MOBIX Park & Charge” application. What a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Mobility Marketplace entails, the role Park & Charge plays in it, and how MOBIX leverages blockchain and AI to create value will be explored in our next blog post.