Tencent deal puts Chutes in front of a large audience
Bittensor’s TAO rose more than 3% to about $220 after Tencent selected Chutes, a Bittensor subnet, as a launch partner for its new flagship AI model HY4. The link matters because Tencent’s Weixin and WeChat platforms report a combined 1.439 billion monthly active users. That does not mean all those users will touch decentralized AI soon, but it gives Chutes a much wider path to market. Chutes lists pricing at $0.525 per million input tokens and $1.5625 per million output tokens. The cost angle is part of the pitch as decentralized AI providers try to compete with larger, more expensive AI builds.
Big Tech AI spending draws more scrutiny
The broader AI trade has had a rough patch. Amazon earnings showed how costly AI expansion can be, and its stock fell nearly 8% in a short period, wiping more than $200 billion off its value. The stock has since recovered most of those losses and is up over 11% in November. Still, the sell-off was a reality check. I think investors are starting to ask whether the spending race at big tech firms leaves room for cheaper or more specialized networks. That question may help Bittensor, though it is too early to call it a clear shift.
Subnet fees turn into buybacks
On-chain numbers are giving TAO holders something concrete to track. Almanac, a Bittensor-based decentralized AI platform also known as SN41, generated $109,440 in fees during October. It was the first time it passed $100,000 in fees. Almanac burned all of those fees to buy back TAO and SN41 alpha. Engy, or SN53, a subnet focused on verifiable AI inference for open-source models, has spent $63,000 on buybacks and token burns. Together, these moves show how subnet revenue can create direct buying pressure for TAO, at least in small amounts.
What to watch for TAO
The key test is whether this momentum turns into real demand. A 3% rally suggests interest is picking up, but one partnership and a few buybacks are not enough on their own. If more subnets keep generating revenue and use it to buy back and burn tokens, Bittensor could build a stronger case. For now, TAO is worth watching as decentralized AI tries to show it can turn usage into fees, and fees into demand.
