Tether has unveiled a new grants program aimed at fostering the development of open-source tools for on-device AI systems and decentralized payment infrastructure. The program offers task-based grants with fixed payouts ranging from $1,500 to $4,000, payable in USDT or Bitcoin, to support specific technical milestones. The initiative focuses on four key areas: QVAC, an on-device AI platform; a Wallet Development Kit for embedding self-custodial wallets; MDK for Bitcoin mining infrastructure; and Pears for peer-to-peer networking. CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized the program's goal to support technologies that operate locally and independently of centralized intermediaries, aligning with user interests by avoiding extensive data collection. Tether's previous contributions include significant grants to Bitcoin and open-source projects, such as $100,000 to the BTCPay Server Foundation and $250,000 to OpenSats, as well as educational grants through its Plan B partnership with Lugano.