Imagine a world where digital content creation is not limited by the constraints of expensive hardware or centralized control. A world where artists, animators, and studios can use the power of a global network of GPUs to bring their visions to life at a fraction of the cost.
With the rise of generative AI and the increasing demand for interactive, immersive experiences, Render aims to bring crypto into the creation process equation.
In this piece, we’ll take a deep dive into the Render Network, exploring its origins, its technology, and its potential to shape the future of digital content creation.
We’ll hear from the visionaries behind the project, including founder Jules Urbach and industry luminaries like Brendan Eich and Beeple, and we’ll get a glimpse of what’s in store for Render in the coming years.
Render is a decentralized GPU rendering platform that connects users who need GPU computing power for tasks like rendering 3D models or AI-generated images.
‘Rendering is the process of creating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from a 2D or 3D model.’
Because anyone can use their GPU to render content, the goal of Render is to provide artists with nearly limitless rendering capacity at a fraction of the cost compared to traditional methods.
Well-suited for digital artists, animation studios, and anyone involved in 3D modeling, they can rely on their production by using the Render Network.
The idea for Render Network stemmed from the high costs associated with using GPUs in traditional data centers for CGI rendering. GPUs in data centers were significantly more expensive than consumer-grade GPUs available at retail stores, largely due to licensing restrictions.
With a solution offered by decentralized rendering, the project was initially conceptualized in 2009 by Jules Urbach, who is also the CEO of OTOY, Inc. The company has pushed the boundaries of digital content creation and developed the first peer-to-peer GPU rendering network, RNDR, with its first public token sale in October 2017.
The founder, Jules Urbach, has over 25 years of experience in the industry. He created his first game at 18 and later developed the web’s first 3D video game platform. His software was licensed by major companies like Macromedia, Disney, Warner Brothers, Nickelodeon, Microsoft, Hasbro, and AT&T.
Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor (NYSE: EDR), has also been in the trenches for Render as he was a key figure in the sports and entertainment sectors. J.J. Abrams, Chairman & CEO of Bad Robot Productions, is a noted American filmmaker and composer who has made significant contributions to the action, drama, and science fiction genres and also backs Render.
Besides many other important names, such as Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript and co-founder of the Mozilla project, Mike Winkelmann, better known as Beeple, is a digital artist who works with or is affiliated with Render.
This review of Render (RENDER) was created for informational purposes. This article is not intended for promotion.
As said before, the Render Network uses blockchain to democratize digital content creation (rendering) by connecting users who are in need of GPU computing power to those who have GPU resources that they do not use.
This makes it ideal for small independent artists and studios that have the RENDER tokens to pay for the services.
OctaneRender and the Render Network are deeply connected through their shared use of technology and goals. OctaneRender, developed by OTOY, is a rendering engine capable of producing photorealistic visuals. The Render Network leverages OctaneRender’s technology to provide decentralized GPU rendering services.
The Render Network uses blockchain technology to create a decentralized system where GPU owners can offer their idle GPU power.
This is achieved by the integration of the Render Network Wizard in OctaneRender’s Cinema 4D release and with the plugin that simplifies the process of submitting projects to the Render Network.
According to Urbach, the RENDER token plays an essential role in documenting and verifying the creation process of digital assets. The Render Network leverages blockchain technology to provide a “receipt” for every piece of content created, whether AI-driven or traditionally CG.
Render also capitalized on the emerging generative AI trend, where robotical workflows and services in creation are used. Founder Urbach detailed the network’s focus on ‘inference time compute’ — an evolution of AI that emphasizes more intensive inference processes that can run on decentralized GPUs. The term ‘DeAI’ is being used to describe the ‘rescue’ operation of saving AI from the grip of big companies as well.
Render Network added leading DePIN networks like Exabits and Prime Intellect as Compute Clients and released a set of expansions to generative AI tools, including Flux by BlackForest Labs, Dream Machine by Luma Labs, and Stable Diffusion by Stability AI.
Unreal Engine and Render, while distinct in their purposes, can complement each other in the creative pipeline, particularly in projects requiring both real-time interactivity and high-quality rendering. Unreal Engine is widely used for real-time rendering, virtual production, and interactive experiences, offering tools for creating stunning graphics and environments. However, achieving photorealistic results in Unreal often requires significant preparation time, high-quality assets, and substantial computational power—limitations that can be challenging for lower-budget productions or large-scale projects.
This is where Render can fill the gap. Render is a decentralized GPU rendering platform that provides nearly limitless rendering capacity by utilizing distributed GPUs across its network. It enables artists, animation studios, and 3D modelers to render complex scenes and photorealistic images at a fraction of the cost of traditional rendering methods.
For Unreal Engine users, Render can serve as a powerful solution for offloading rendering tasks that exceed the engine’s real-time capabilities, such as pre-rendering complex scenes or achieving higher-quality visuals that Unreal’s native tools might struggle to deliver in real time.
In the world of digital art and animation, securing resources for creative projects can be challenging. The Render Foundation offers a fantastic opportunity for artists seeking support for their passion projects or professional endeavors through its grant program. Here’s what you need to know about applying for a grant and how it can benefit your projects.
Describe Your Needs: Clearly state what you want to achieve with the grant, focusing on how the rendering resources will impact your project.
Render Network initially started on Ethereum but switched to Polygon due to transaction issues. Following a ‘community’ decision (under RNP-002), it moved to Solana.
The RENDER tokens are the credits that GPU owners receive for lending their processing power for rendering tasks. On the other hand, users requiring rendering services pay with these tokens, with costs based on the required GPU power, measured using OctaneBench (OBH).
The only legitimate Render token contract addresses are:
Out of the maximum supply of 644.2 million tokens, 517.7 million RENDER tokens are currently in circulation, representing 80.36% of the total supply.
As of today, March 10, 2025, a total of 313.43 million RENDER tokens, valued at approximately $865.07 million at the current price, have been
unlocked through cliff unlocks.
There is no linear unlocking mechanism in place. Regarding the overall token unlock progress, 48.65% of the tokens are unlocked, 36.48% remain lo
cked, 10.68% are untracked, and 4.19% have an unconfirmed locked status (TBD).
There have been two past unlock events, and three more are scheduled in the near future. The most recent event unlocked 492,130 RENDER tok
ens on February 11, 2025. The next unlock event, set to release the same amount of tokens, will occur on March 13, 2025.
The token allocations are distributed across multiple categories. Standard Allocations include Public and Private Sales (117.8 million tokens), Inflation Allocation (107.4 million tokens), and the OTOY Treasury (150.1 million tokens, with some allocations TBD). Other Allocations include 171.4 million tokens held in escrow for partners, 42 million tokens in escrow for subsequent distribution (TBD), and 55.5 million tokens reserved for the RNDR Reserve (TBD).
The inflation allocation is designed to vest gradually until beyond 2030, with small releases that will never exceed 10% of the total supply per year.
The 2020s will likely see the form of media consumption rise to another level, where Hollywood disappears and user-generated content becomes a way we interact with this new virtual reality.
This means many will try to make content, and many will need their content rendered. The idea that people will be incentivized to combat against big tech is ideological. Whether this becomes the truth remains to be seen, but Render could be onto something.
Also, AI’s role in media is expanding, and creators can now create content for next to nothing. Hereby, the Render Network could become a preferred choice for studios that do not have access to a local render farm. The network offers significant cost savings by eliminating the need for upfront hardware investments.
With their concept of the “Render Economy” that is built on the belief that even in an age dominated by automation and AI, the intrinsic value of human creativity and imagination remains irreplaceable, we are keen to see what happens in the (near) future with Render as a whole.
RenderCon 2025 is now officially scheduled for April 15th at NYA Studios in Hollywood. Anticipation is building for the event’s incredible speaker lineup. Jules Urbach, CEO of Otoy, gave a sneak peek, revealing that his talk will dive into the future of AI, computing, interactive content, and the evolution from early prototypes to fully realized creator-first tools.
He’ll explain how emerging video-to-video AI models are enabling artists to combine neural networks, 3D rendering, and filmed content in powerful new ways.
The Render Network, built on OTOY’s OctaneRender technology, provides a decentralized cloud rendering platform that gives 3D artists access to virtually unlimited GPU compute power. With many artists saying this enables much more room for creativity compared to what they could render locally, it is a crypto project that has our attention.
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