AiNodes

AiNodes is a blockchain infrastructure company offering Validation as a Service — managed node operation, staking, and API access across Solana and a growing roster of blockchain networks. Founded in June 2024 and based in Limassol, Cyprus, the project targets projects, developers, and institutional operators who need reliable blockchain participation without building or maintaining their own hardware and on-call engineering teams.

The Problem

Running a validator or full node on a high-performance blockchain like Solana requires specialized hardware, sustained uptime engineering, and continuous monitoring. The Solana network in particular sets demanding performance thresholds: validators that miss too many votes or credits face reduced rewards and potential removal from stake delegation programs. For most teams, the operational overhead is prohibitive. AiNodes abstracts this complexity by operating the physical infrastructure and software stack on behalf of clients, who retain control of their delegation and rewards while AiNodes handles provisioning, patching, and incident response.

Node Marketplace

AiNodes operates a self-service node marketplace at app.ainodes.tech. Clients select a network, a node type, and a performance tier; billing is hourly with no setup fees. Slot availability across networks is displayed in real time.

Eight node types are offered:

• Validator Nodes — actively participate in consensus and earn block rewards
• Full Nodes — fully-synced chain state for transaction broadcasting and dapp serving
• RPC Endpoints — high-throughput JSON-RPC access for developer and production use
• Archive Nodes — complete historical chain state from genesis, used for analytics and indexing
• Testnet Nodes — isolated environments for protocol development and pre-launch staging
• Light Nodes — lower-resource access for applications that do not need full state
• Custom Solutions — tailored configurations for non-standard infrastructure needs

Solana Coverage

Solana is AiNodes' primary supported chain. The company operates its own Solana mainnet validator and has received a token delegation from the Solana Foundation under the Solana Foundation Delegation Program (SFDP) — a competitive program requiring validators to meet sustained performance and reliability thresholds before qualifying for Foundation-controlled stake. Igor Kachura, co-founder, described the award as confirmation of AiNodes' commitment to the Solana ecosystem.

Igor Kachura, co-founder of AiNodes, commented on the SFDP award: "Receiving a token delegation under the SFDP confirms our commitment to high standards and our contribution to the development of the Solana ecosystem."

Solana-specific plans include Full Node, Validator, and RPC node types priced from approximately $300 per month for shared configurations up to $5,100 per month for dedicated enterprise setups. Enterprise tiers include 50 Gbit/sec bandwidth, 99.99% uptime SLA, Yellowstone gRPC support, custom domain provisioning, and 24/7 priority support. The staking APR for delegated SOL is approximately 7.19% as reflected on the platform.

Multi-Chain Scope

Beyond Solana, AiNodes covers more than a dozen additional networks across mainnet and testnet phases. Live mainnet networks include Avail, Celestia, Warden, Dill, Pell, IMUA, Avalanche, Exocore, Atleta, Story, TON, Gnosis, HAQQ, and Powerpool. Testnet coverage extends to Penumbra, Symbiotic, Byzantine, and others. Networks listed as coming soon include GenLayer, Espresso, Raiku, Rakurai, and DoubleZero — the last being a Solana-adjacent ultra-low-latency infrastructure network.

This breadth reflects a common pattern among professional validator operators who leverage shared infrastructure and operational expertise across chains, while keeping Solana as the commercial and technical anchor.

Security Certifications

AiNodes holds two infrastructure security certifications: SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001. SOC 2 Type II audits an organization's controls around security, availability, and confidentiality over a sustained observation period — it is more demanding than a point-in-time SOC 2 Type I assessment. ISO 27001 is the international standard for information security management systems. Both certifications speak to operational and data-handling practices; they are not smart contract audits, which are not applicable to AiNodes' infrastructure-layer model.

Open-Source Tooling

AiNodes publishes operator-focused monitoring utilities under its GitHub organization (github.com/ainodes-tech). Notable tools include:

• solana-monitoring — a shell-script Prometheus textfile collector tracking validator SFDP queue position, vote rate, credit score versus cluster leaders, and estimated balance runway. Outputs to a pre-built Grafana dashboard.
• monad-exporter — a Go-based Prometheus exporter for Monad node metrics including sync status, RPC availability, and optional staking data via eth_call.
• monad-status-monitoring — a Telegram alerting bot for Monad block-height monitoring that fires UP, Stuck, or DOWN alerts, configurable as a systemd service or cron job.

These tools are designed for independent node operators rather than AiNodes customers, positioning the company as a contributor to the broader operator tooling ecosystem.

Validator Grant Program

AiNodes runs a Validator Grant Program offering $3,000 in node credits, one month of Solana testnet validator access, infrastructure support, and marketing assistance. The program targets builders preparing to launch a Solana mainnet validator who want a subsidized path from testnet to production. The grant has been listed through Superteam Earn, Solana's bounty and grant platform.

Partnerships and Integrations

AiNodes is an official Circle Alliance partner with integrations covering USDC, Circle Wallets, Mint, and Contracts — indicating readiness to serve clients whose infrastructure interacts with stablecoin issuance or payment rails. The company lists geographic service coverage across APAC, Europe, LATAM, the Middle East and Africa, and North America. Named ecosystem partners include PowerPool (DeFi protocol), CryptoRank (crypto analytics), and Itez (crypto on-ramp).

Token and Business Model

AiNodes has not issued a native protocol token. Revenue comes from node hosting subscriptions billed hourly. The SOL staking rewards flowing through delegated stake are part of standard Solana validator economics rather than a separate AiNodes token layer.

Ecosystem Fit

AiNodes occupies the infrastructure layer of the Solana ecosystem — the same category as other managed validator and node-as-a-service providers. Its positioning differentiators are multi-chain breadth, enterprise-grade SLA tiers, and industry security certifications uncommon at this price point for a company of its age. The SFDP delegation provides independent verification of validator performance quality. For Solana ecosystem projects needing credible, certified infrastructure without building a DevOps function, AiNodes is a direct-to-production option that entered the market in mid-2024 and has established relevant third-party recognition within its first year.