In a fast-moving technology world, bridging artificial intelligence and blockchain in meaningful ways often leads to jargon-heavy descriptions that can obscure real-world solutions. Omar Saadoun, CTO and co-founder of Intellex, understands this well. For him, AI and blockchain integration is less about buzzwords and more about securely solving tangible business challenges.
Saadoun, originally from France and now based in Uruguay, first engaged with blockchain around 2016, initially as a means of differentiating his Latin American software company internationally. His curiosity quickly became conviction when he discovered the philosophy underpinning blockchain technology, propelling him deeper into a career of strategic tech innovation.
His venture into Intellex, co-founded with Eric Hillerbrand, was not born simply of a desire to blend two trending technologies—AI and blockchain—but rather from necessity. Early work with significant industry players, including Nestle and US Food Corp, illuminated a critical problem: supply chain inefficiencies arising from a lack of trust and data sharing. Suppliers, manufacturers, brokers, and distributors worked in isolation, guarding proprietary information, thus undermining overall efficiency.
Intellex’s solution directly addresses this security and trust issue. By employing AI, particularly probabilistic models, Intellect extracts valuable insights without compromising sensitive data. Unlike traditional deterministic software, which defines explicit input-output paths, probabilistic AI introduces uncertainty in outcomes. To manage this unpredictability securely, Intellect provides an environment with clearly defined boundaries, ensuring AI agents work within carefully structured parameters.
Blockchain adds a crucial layer of trust and security to this arrangement. According to Saadoun, blockchain ensures fair and transparent governance, preventing larger corporations from dominating the shared intelligence. With blockchain’s immutable records, companies, big and small, contribute intelligence on an equal footing, thus fostering an ecosystem of shared, trusted knowledge.
Security is paramount, particularly in an industry plagued with vulnerabilities and high-profile breaches. Intellect’s relationship with Resonance Security underscores this priority. Resonance Security, introduced to Intellex via the NEAR Protocol team, provided auditing expertise vital for securing Intellect’s smart contracts. Saadoun stresses that their choice of Resonance Security was based not only on its professional excellence but also on the flexibility and depth of its audits.
“Intellex was looking for a personalized approach to cybersecurity that other shops don’t offer. Customers that care about cybersecurity are done spending endless money on audits that give them a one off pdf report and sends them home to figure it out on their own just to get hacked later,” says Charles Dray, CEO of Resonance Security.
“NEAR foundation introduced Intellex to us to enjoy the Resonance Security experience which can not be matched for cost or quality in the market today. Proof is always in the results and that’s exactly what keeps everyone coming back. We will continue to support teams that truly care about security, and we will always deliver way beyond their preconceived, unfortunately low, expectations from their experiences with other auditors,” he says.
Intellex’s use of blockchain isn’t merely about secure data handling; it actively involves a community of token holders who participate in governance, compute tasks, and validating agent activities. Token holders stake their tokens into activators, groups of AI agents, forming a decentralized workforce capable of addressing real-world problems, from optimizing supply chains to enhancing sales strategies. This active staking rewards token holders, driving continuous community engagement and improvement.
As Saadoun emphasizes, Intellex’s approach isn’t technology for technology’s sake. Instead, it firmly roots itself in practical problem-solving, with scalability and security at its core. AI’s probabilistic nature is harnessed thoughtfully, made secure through blockchain’s deterministic guarantees. In doing so, Intellect moves beyond buzzwords, positioning itself as a critical, secure, and resonant force in the evolving intelligence economy.
