Pi Network, which has built a globally immense community through participatory smartphone mining, has announced its full-scale entry into the field of AI (Artificial Intelligence) as its next move. This announcement, made in conjunction with “Pi2Day” in 2025, is not just about adding new features; it is a highly strategic step that concretely illustrates the future vision of the ecosystem the project aims to achieve.
They propose a grand vision: to provide unique solutions to societal challenges brought about by AI, utilizing blockchain technology. This article objectively and systematically explains the full scope of the newly announced core features, “Pi App Studio” and “Ecosystem Directory Staking,” as well as crucial surrounding technological updates.
Summary source: Official Blog
https://minepi.com/blog/pi2day2025/
Pi Network’s Proposed “Challenges in the AI Era” and “Role of Blockchain”
Why is Pi Network focusing on AI now? This move is rooted in their perception of fundamental challenges that modern society is increasingly facing due to the rapid evolution of AI technology.
Three Challenges Brought by AI
Pi Network points out the following three major challenges that need to be addressed as AI permeates society:
- Immaturity of the AI application layer: A significant gap still exists between advanced AI foundational technologies and concrete applications that utilize them in real-world society.
- Role of human labor and intellect: Uncertainty about what role human labor and intellect will play in a world where AI replaces much of productive activity.
- Unequal distribution of wealth: The concern that the immense productivity gains AI will generate may concentrate among a few corporations or individuals, widening disparities.
Pi Network’s Solution: “Value Distribution” via Blockchain
To address these challenges, Pi Network proposes the fusion of AI and blockchain technology as a solution. What’s interesting here is the uniqueness of their approach.
While many “decentralized AI” projects focus on decentralizing AI training data or computational processes themselves using blockchain, Pi Network presents a more macro perspective. It is the idea of leveraging blockchain as a scalable foundation for fairly and inclusively “distributing and redistributing” the “products and value” generated by AI to society as a whole.
Instead of a few monopolizing the wealth generated by AI, Pi Network’s core vision is to fairly return this wealth to “real humans” who are participants in the ecosystem, through blockchain.
Realizing this vision requires a vast number of real humans verified through Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and a vibrant social network in which they participate, a foundation that Pi Network claims to already possess.
What is the Core Feature “Pi App Studio”? The Dawn of an Era Where Anyone Can Be an App Developer
The core engine for realizing this grand vision is the newly announced “Pi App Studio.” This is an innovative platform with the potential to fundamentally transform the way applications are developed.
No-Code App Development Platform Utilizing Generative AI
Pi App Studio’s greatest feature is that it does not require specialized programming knowledge. Users simply input their app ideas and requirements in natural language (everyday words), as if conversing with a human. Generative AI then interprets these instructions and automatically builds the application.
Pi Network highlights “guided workflows” and “access to a massive user base” as differentiators from other AI tools. Beyond simply providing tools, they guide individuals without product development expertise to bring their ideas to fruition and provide an environment where immediate feedback can be obtained from a community of tens of millions, thereby supporting practical product development.
Two Development Options: Specialized Chatbots and Free App Creation
Pi App Studio, as released, primarily offers two development options:
- Creation of topic-specific chatbots: This workflow allows developers to train AI with their own expertise and knowledge to create custom chatbots that can provide high-quality responses on specific topics. Beyond mere Q&A, it is expected to be applied to various application formats such as step-by-step wizards, interactive quizzes, and recommendation engines.
- Open App Development Platform (Beta): This platform allows for more free-form creation of any application one envisions, without coding. While still in beta, it suggests that various types of apps will be possible in the future.
Apps created can also aim for monetization by integrating with the Pi Ad Network and .pi Domains.
Mechanism of Another New Feature: “Ecosystem Directory Staking”
Even if many excellent apps are created, they are meaningless if users cannot discover them. To solve this problem, a new feature called “Ecosystem Directory Staking” has been introduced.
This mechanism allows users to support specific apps they wish to back by staking their Pi for a certain period. The more Pi staked, the more prominently the app will be displayed in the ecosystem’s directory (listing page). This mechanism can be described as a decentralized ranking system that aims for truly valuable apps to be evaluated by the collective intelligence of the entire community, rather than by the amount of advertising spend.
Important Technical Updates Supporting the Ecosystem
In addition to these two main features, this announcement also includes several important technical updates aimed at strengthening the overall ecosystem’s foundation.
Improved Accessibility: Onramper Integration
Onramper, a third-party aggregation tool for KYB (Know Your Business)-certified on-ramp services, will be integrated into Pi Wallet. This will provide users with more options to participate in the Pi ecosystem from fiat currency, in compliance with regional regulations, thereby improving accessibility.
Enhanced Node Functionality and Visibility (v0.5.2)
Several important updates were also implemented for the Node software, which underpins the Pi network, as version 0.5.2.
- Renaming and Feature Expansion: The traditional dedicated Node application has been renamed to “Pi Desktop.” This clarifies its position as a more general-purpose desktop application, which will integrate functions not related to Node operation in the future, such as utilizing Pi App Studio on a larger PC screen. Usability has also been improved, including the ability to resize windows.
- Node Ranking Page Publication: The top 5,000 highest-performing Pi Nodes are now publicly ranked on Pi Blockexplorer. The ranking is updated every 24 hours and evaluated based on the following key metrics:
- Reliability
- Availability
- Port Openness
- Total Active Days
- CPU Performance
This makes high-performing nodes that stably contribute to the network visible, and users can check their node’s position on the ranking using their public key.
Accelerated KYC and Mainnet Migration
Improvements have also been made to the KYC (Know Your Customer) process and Mainnet migration. Specifically, updates resolving issues for users facing unique challenges in certain regions have allowed over 500,000 additional Pioneers to unlock their migration blocks, enabling them to join the Mainnet.
Developer Support: .pi Domain Auction Extension
With the release of Pi App Studio, many developers will need to secure unique and memorable Web3 identifiers for their apps. In response, the .pi domain auction deadline has been extended to September 30, 2025.
Bonus: Limited-Time Interactive Challenge Also Held
To celebrate the release of these new features, Pi Network is hosting the “Pi2Day Ecosystem Challenge.” Through this interactive challenge, users can experience various features of the ecosystem, including the newly announced functions, and receive digital memorabilia.
Summary: Can Pi Network Create New Value at the Intersection of AI and Blockchain?
Pi Network has now officially launched its AI strategy, announcing “Pi App Studio,” which enables anyone to become an app developer, and “Ecosystem Directory Staking,” a community-driven evaluation system, as its core components.
Underlying this is an ambitious vision: not a future where wealth generated by AI is monopolized by a few large capitals, but one where blockchain technology is used to widely and fairly distribute that value to society. Numerous surrounding technical updates, such as enhanced node functionality and improved KYC processes, indicate that this vision is not mere fantasy but is based on concrete implementation plans.
Of course, the success of this grand scheme remains to be seen. Its success will depend on how many appealing and practical applications emerge from Pi App Studio and are embraced by users worldwide. There is no doubt that this announcement marks an important step in building a strong foundation for that challenge.