Exclusive: Aleph.im rebrands to Aleph Cloud with $1m Web3 accelerator

Aleph.im, a leader in decentralized infrastructure, has rebranded as Aleph Cloud and is launching a new startup accelerator program.

Aleph.im’s rebrand as Aleph Cloud signifies its transformation into a full-stack decentralized cloud provider, as confirmed in an exclusive interview with crypto.news. Announced on April 23, the rebrand reflects the company’s expanded product suite, including decentralized compute, storage, virtual machines, and GPU resources, all designed to power next-generation Web3 and AI applications.

Alongside the rebrand, Aleph Cloud is introducing a $1 million startup accelerator program to help Web3 builders and startups transition away from centralized cloud providers like AWS and Google Cloud, which dominate much of today’s blockchain infrastructure.

The program offers compute credits, storage, and technical support across ecosystems such as Ethereum, Base, Solana, BSC, and Avalanche.

“Most blockchain apps still rely on centralized cloud services, which puts decentralization at risk,” Jonathan Schemoul, CEO of Aleph Cloud, said in a press release. “Our rebrand and accelerator program are designed to help teams move off AWS and toward infrastructure that’s censorship-resistant, performant, and easy to use.”

A shift from tools to full cloud platform

Originally known for providing Solana indexers, Aleph.im has evolved into a full cloud platform, prompting the rebrand to Aleph Cloud. According to Schemoul, the new name clarifies the project’s mission: delivering a comprehensive, developer-friendly decentralized cloud experience.

“It felt clearer for us but most importantly to our customers and users to adopt a universal name as Aleph Cloud,” Schemoul said in a Q&A with crypto.news.

Aleph Cloud now runs on over 700 globally distributed nodes across 12 countries and offers an intuitive SaaS interface, allowing developers to deploy decentralized apps without needing DevOps expertise.

Backing builders with a decentralized safety net

Aleph Cloud’s newly launched Accelerator Program is intended to give early-stage Web3 and AI developers access to infrastructure credits, confidential virtual machines, web hosting, and more, without upfront cost.

Schemoul told crypto.news that small startups and independent developers “need strong resources in order to develop their projects.” To support a thriving ecosystem, Aleph Cloud will consider companies with a real product or even a proof of concept to gain access to its cloud services for free up to a certain threshold.

Instead of using treasury funds directly, the program distributes access via non-transferable Soulbound tokens, which unlock free use of Aleph Cloud’s infrastructure for selected participants.

Proving its edge over centralized and decentralized rivals

The move comes amid increasing concerns about centralization risks in blockchain. Over 50% of Ethereum nodes, for example, are hosted on centralized services like AWS, making entire networks vulnerable to outages. Aleph Cloud offers an alternative by enabling decentralized node hosting for Ethereum, Bitcoin, and more.

In the first four months of 2025 alone, Aleph Cloud has issued over 200,000 Soulbound tokens and supported 26 blockchain networks. Projects like Ubisoft’s Web3 games, HyperSwap, and Anima’s Sybil-resistance tooling already use the platform to maintain censorship-resistance and ensure uptime during centralized cloud outages.

“Whether it’s DeFi applications like HyperSwap, Sybil-resistance tools like Anima, or use cases in the gaming industry with partners such as Ubisoft, we are ready to support them,” Schemoul also said in the interview.

Competing on flexibility and scale

Aleph Cloud’s strategy is consistent with a broader trend toward decentralized physical infrastructure. It competes against industry titans like Filecoin and Akash and needs to differentiate itself in a fast growing market.

According to Schemoul, Aleph’s edge lies in its all-in-one design, offering compute, storage, hosting, and confidential virtual machines through a unified interface. The CEO stated:

“Whether you need to store data, host a website or portfolio, display a Frame, or run AI agents, Aleph Cloud is designed to support it all. You can even do everything simultaneously, something that many larger competitors do not offer.”

Developer interest is notably strong on Solana, with nearly 90% of recent accelerator applications focused on that ecosystem. The platform has also expanded support to emerging chains like Sonic and Eclipse.

Designed for compliance

Aleph Cloud emphasizes that it is GDPR compliant and operates a chain-agnostic deployment. Neither Aleph nor its node operators can view stored data, reducing the likelihood of ad targeting, resale, or any other activity that goes against the end user’s interest.

Schemoul explained that it had to recently remove a streaming platform from a node it operated after receiving a copyright notice from the content’s owner. Due to the decentralized architecture, the content was simply migrated to another node.

This is a notable example of how censorship-resistance can be maintained without violating any laws.

The full Q&A with Jonathan Schemoul is below:

crypto.news: Your company recently rebranded from Aleph.im to Aleph Cloud. What drove this decision? Can you share the rationale and vision behind the new brand, and how it better reflects the direction the company is headed in 2025 and beyond?

Jonathan Schemoul: We have been exploring different options before finally settling on Aleph Cloud. Our main objective remains the same, providing an affordable, fast and resilient decentralized cloud for web3 native companies. Our infrastructure and service model has greatly improved allowing us to cater also to larger traditional enterprises.

Aleph.im used to provide indexers on Solana before growing our product suite to a complete cloud platform. In this sense it felt clearer for us but most importantly to our customers and users to adopt a universal name as Aleph Cloud.

CN: What was the strategic thinking behind launching the accelerator program? What types of startups or innovations are you hoping to support, and how will the program help them (e.g. providing cloud credits, mentorship, or other resources)?

JS: First it’s a matter of common good. I think that our industry has to unite in order to grow more successful companies and protocols and their fate shouldn’t be left in the hands of big tech corporates. Small startups and independent devs need strong resources in order to develop their projects even before thinking of raising money. With our grant program anyone can apply with a real product or even a POC (proof of concept) and nearly instantly get access to all our cloud services for free up to a certain threshold. Be it confidential virtual machines, VPS, database storage or web hosting, we give these companies an opportunity to run their full stack onchain from day one.

CN: Is the funding coming entirely from Aleph Cloud’s treasury, or are there external partners involved?

JS: These services aren’t paid directly in ALEPH tokens, instead we have developed a non-transferrable Soulbound token that opens access to the cloud to selected individuals; It’s a net positive operation for everyone, this way we don’t have to use our treasury and developers have access to the same resource as any other customer.

CN: What chains are you seeing the most developer interest from? You mention Ethereum, Base, Solana, BSC, and Avalanche in the press release but are there specific ecosystems where demand for decentralized infrastructure is outpacing the rest

Looking at the applicants to our grant program, nearly 90% show a strong dominance of Solana, particularly for consumer-facing applications. With support for 24 blockchains (and counting), developers can now build their apps on a truly decentralized cloud, finally putting the ‘D’ back in DApp. Recently, we deployed Aleph Cloud on Sonic and Eclipse, as we’re seeing growing momentum around these emerging blockchains.

CN: Centralization remains a big issue in blockchain ecosystems for instance, up to 90% of Layer-1 nodes run on centralized clouds like AWS or Azure​. How does Aleph Cloud’s decentralized infrastructure offer an advantage over traditional providers like AWS or Google Cloud? In what areas do you see competitive advantages and how do you convince developers or enterprises to switch from the convenience of centralized cloud services?

JS: That’s entirely true, and it is quite concerning to see AWS and GCP ranking among the most-used cloud providers in the blockchain ecosystem.

According to Ethernode, 51% of Ethereum nodes are hosted on cloud providers, with 38% hosted on AWS alone. While we are not yet scaled to host an entire blockchain network on Aleph Cloud, we do enable decentralized node hosting. For example, several users are already running Bitcoin and Ethereum nodes on our infrastructure in a fully decentralized manner.

Our suite of products is designed to support enterprise and developer needs alike. Whether it’s DeFi applications like HyperSwap, Sybil-resistance tools like Anima, or use cases in the gaming industry with partners such as Ubisoft, we are ready to support them.

The path toward a decentralized industry takes time. We are still early, working to convince one project at a time, but we are seeing significant and growing interest in our solution.

CN: Industry-wide, we’re seeing a 2025 trend toward decentralized physical infrastructure for cloud services. How do you view Aleph Cloud’s role in this broader movement? What sets Aleph apart from other decentralized compute or storage protocols emerging in this space (for example, competitors like Filecoin for storage or Akash for compute)? In your opinion, where does Aleph Cloud have a unique edge in the push to challenge the dominance of traditional cloud providers?

We can be proud to be one of the first projects that emerged in 2020 and is still actively building five years later. This demonstrates two key things. First, we have built a strong base of customers and developers who continue to support us regardless of market fluctuations. Second, we consistently innovate and release essential features, such as confidential virtual machines and GPU instances.

As you pointed out, we offer a universal cloud platform. Whether you need to store data, host a website or portfolio, display a Frame, or run AI agents, Aleph Cloud is designed to support it all. You can even do everything simultaneously, something that many larger competitors do not offer. Our biggest advantage is delivering a comprehensive and flexible cloud solution that adapts to every need.

CN: How is Aleph Cloud navigating the regulatory landscape? For example, you’ve described the platform as a GDPR-compliant “chain-agnostic supercloud”​ but how do you ensure data privacy, security, and compliance in a network of globally distributed nodes? Do you foresee any regulatory hurdles (or advantages) for decentralized infrastructure providers, and how are you preparing to address issues like data jurisdiction or service liability that traditional cloud companies typically deal with?

JS: Aleph Cloud is fully GDPR compliant, as neither we nor the node operators have access to the data stored in the cloud. This means we cannot extract or exploit data for commercial purposes, unlike centralized providers such as Meta, Google, or Amazon.Regarding chain agnosticism, we support both EVM and SVM-based blockchains. This allows us to quickly integrate new ecosystems into Aleph Cloud and provide developers and builders with a more flexible, seamless experience.

For example, a few months ago, we received a copyright infringement notice because someone was using Aleph Cloud to host a streaming platform. Since the content was hosted on a node operated by our own company, we were legally obligated to remove it. However, our infrastructure is designed to provide an alternative, if content is removed from one node, it can be migrated to another. The responsibility for hosted content lies with the node operator where the content resides. We provide decentralized technology, but each operator is accountable for what is hosted on their node.

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