Built on the Vana network, VDataDAO transforms social media data into a shared, community-owned dataset that powers cultural research and AI.

GEORGE TOWN, KY / ACCESS Newswire / October 17, 2025 / VDataDAO, the largest and most active community on the Vana network, today announced its official launch. The project enables individuals to contribute their Instagram data to a shared, community-owned dataset that powers cultural research and AI development.

With more than 50,000 members, VDataDAO, often called the "Instagram DataDAO", allows users to reclaim ownership of their social and creative data. Participants can upload their Instagram archives to a collectively governed and anonymized dataset that researchers, developers, and AI builders can use to study cultural shifts, aesthetic trends, and patterns of creativity online.

"VDataDAO turns everyday online activity into cultural capital," said Halo, Founder of VDataDAO. "People can finally share in the value their content creates instead of giving it away to platforms."

Each year, companies spend billions of dollars developing proprietary datasets to analyze human behavior. VDataDAO offers an alternative: a living, community-owned dataset built from real human activity and governed transparently by contributors. By making data a public good rather than a corporate asset, VDataDAO supports more open, human-centered innovation in AI and trend research.

"VDataDAO expands the Vana ecosystem in a profound way," said Art Abal, Managing Director of the Vana Foundation. "When social and cultural data connect with other datasets across Vana, such as health, spending, or creativity, they help reveal how we think, feel, and act. These connections make it possible to see how culture drives real-world behavior and markets."

According to Mordor Intelligence, the global market for customer analytics is projected to exceed USD 35 billion by 2030. With VDataDAO, insights into human behavior, taste, and creativity become collective assets - accessible to the people who generate them and available for use in more transparent and socially aware AI systems.

About Vana

Vana is the blockchain for user-owned data. It enables people to collectively own, govern, and earn from AI models trained on their data.

About VDataDAO

VDataDAO is a decentralized data collective built on Vana that transforms social, consumer, and creative data into a community-owned dataset powering AI and trend discovery.

SOURCE: Vana Foundation