Tether is pushing further beyond its core stablecoin business, with CEO Paolo Ardoino saying the company plans to develop AI applications specifically for developing markets as its global user base crosses 650 million people. The comments position AI as the latest pillar in a broader diversification strategy Ardoino has been building out beyond USDT issuance.
Ardoino has described the strategy in interviews with Fortune as an effort to reduce reliance on Big Tech infrastructure, extending Tether's footprint from finance into cloud computing, communications and now AI tools aimed at users who may lack access to conventional dollar banking or mainstream AI products.
Extending USDT's Playbook to AI
The logic tracks closely with how Tether built its stablecoin dominance in the first place: USDT has become a default way for millions of people in developing economies to hold and transact in dollars where local banking access is limited or currencies are unstable. Applying that same playbook to AI — building lightweight, locally deployable tools rather than relying on centralized Big Tech platforms — would extend Tether's reach into a user base it has already spent years cultivating through its stablecoin business.
Related: Top 1% of US Firms Now Spend $7,400 Per Employee Monthly on AI
Part of a Broader Diversification Under Ardoino
The AI push is one piece of a wider transformation Ardoino has been steering, positioning Tether as what he has called "the stable company" — a diversified operation with bets spanning decentralized AI infrastructure, agriculture, telecommunications and gold-backed tokens, funded by the stablecoin issuer's outsized profits. Tether generated roughly $15 billion in profit last year, giving it substantial capital to deploy into new business lines without relying on external financing.
Why Developing Markets Specifically
Targeting developing markets rather than competing head-on with well-funded AI labs in the US and China plays to Tether's existing strengths: deep distribution in exactly the regions where USDT already has the most active users, and where affordable, locally-run AI tools could see faster adoption than in markets already saturated with alternatives from major US tech platforms. Whether Tether can translate its stablecoin-driven user base into meaningful AI adoption remains to be seen, but the company's willingness to fund the experiment from its own balance sheet gives it more room to iterate than most competitors in the space.
