Starpower Co-Founder Dialogues with Solana Foundation's DePIN Lead: How Can DePIN Lead This Bull Run?
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Starpower Co-Founder Dialogues with Solana Foundation's DePIN Lead: How Can DePIN Lead This Bull Run?
Kuleen believes energy DePIN will become one of the most active and interesting trends in the coming period.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsInterviewer: Laser, Co-founder of Starpower
Guest: Kuleen, DePIN Lead at Solana Foundation
Against the backdrop of rapid growth in DePIN, Laser, co-founder of Starpower, speaks with Kuleen, DePIN Lead at the Solana Foundation, about why Solana is prioritizing energy-focused DePIN projects over the coming year.
The audio transcript and translation are generated by GPT and may contain errors. Please listen to the full podcast:
Opening Introduction
Sarpower’s Vision and Positioning
Laser: Hello, Kuleen. It's truly an honor to have you as our first guest on the debut episode of DePIN Power. We named this podcast DePIN Power because Starpower is an energy project, so the name felt natural. As we begin, I think it’s best if both of us introduce ourselves briefly to our audience. Let me start.
For those interested in Starpower, we are an open, distributed energy network protocol. Simply put, think of us as a Web3 version of Tesla. Unlike Tesla’s proprietary approach, we’re more like Android—open-source, much like the contrast between iOS and Android. We focus on connecting third-party energy devices, especially battery storage systems. By horizontally integrating third-party manufacturers and vertically leveraging DePIN incentives to drive network growth, Starpower aims to surpass Tesla in connected energy devices within five years. We're currently developing our mainnet, expected to launch in Q1 next year, and are now running an airdrop campaign ahead of launch. Personally, I previously worked at Hashkey and have spent the last two years building Starpower. I'm highly bullish on DePIN’s potential in the energy sector. Kuleen, as our first podcast guest, we’d love to hear about you and your role at the Solana Foundation.
Solana Foundation’s Mission and Kuleen’s Role: The Intersection of DePIN and Energy
Kuleen:
First off, I'm honored to be here and deeply fascinated by the intersection of DePIN and energy. I believe energy DePIN will become one of the most active and exciting trends—not just over the next three to six months, but over a longer horizon. I think the world’s energy infrastructure will undergo massive transformation over the next decade. Being at the starting line of this journey feels like a privilege!
About myself—I’m part of the Solana Foundation team. I've been at Solana for about four years, primarily working with teams across the ecosystem to help them succeed. I lead several internal initiatives, but most relevant to today’s discussion is my leadership of DePIN efforts at the Solana Foundation. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with OG DePIN projects like Helium and Hivemapper, and increasingly with next-generation DePIN teams—especially those in energy, like Starpower. Before joining Solana and the crypto space, I worked in finance and quantitative trading, which is actually one of the reasons I’m so drawn to energy. Energy isn’t just technical—it has fascinating market dynamics. For example, electricity prices can go negative, and intraday volatility is extremely high. It’s a uniquely complex domain. Beyond its societal importance, it’s also an intellectually stimulating puzzle.
Solana’s Latest Developments in DePIN
Laser: I remember when we met in New York back in August, you mentioned a professor’s insight that really stuck with me—moving electrons in power systems is like moving bytes on the internet. But before diving deeper into energy DePIN, let’s talk more about Solana. With Solana’s market cap recently hitting $100 billion, could you share your thoughts on recent DePIN developments on Solana, any new projects exciting you, and what’s next for Solana in DePIN?
Kuleen:
While Solana’s or SOL’s market cap is beneficial for the entire ecosystem, it’s not something I focus on daily. My primary goal each morning is helping people build exceptional products on Solana. Regarding DePIN, there are several developments we’re watching closely—ones that could drive the next phase of growth for the entire crypto ecosystem.
DePIN is a broad concept encompassing various industries where the DePIN model can be applied—and energy is clearly one of them. Applying DePIN to energy can solve many challenges, which can even be broken down further from multiple angles. This direction is of deep interest to us.
Another historically significant DePIN subsector is telecommunications, exemplified by Helium. But telecom itself has many layers—providing wireless 5G coverage, LoRa-based IoT connectivity, or newer attempts at decentralized broadband internet. The DePIN approach enables diverse solutions here. Beyond Helium, teams like XNET have recently migrated from Polygon to Solana, tackling the problem differently. I see telecom as a strong use case for DePIN, and expect many more projects in this space.
We’re also seeing a related but distinct trend—the rise of decentralized CDN (content delivery network) infrastructure. Teams like Pipe Network or Gradient are building DePIN networks to store content locally, achieving cost efficiencies. What’s fascinating is that such models already exist without crypto. In China, for instance, some services operate DePIN-like networks—but instead of token payments, someone manually pays via WeChat in a group chat. The core product exists; now we’re simply layering in token incentives and cryptographic infrastructure. That evolution is incredibly promising.
There are other compelling areas too. To keep it brief, sensor networks requiring wide-scale deployment are another ideal fit. One team is exploring drone safety, using sensors to detect drone activity—initially deployed at high-profile events like Taylor Swift concerts. Now they aim to expand coverage geographically and temporally, considering a DePIN approach to scale efficiently.
I find this incredibly exciting. So many real-world problems require distributed hardware, and DePIN offers a powerful framework to solve them. We’re now seeing numerous experiments across these domains. To answer your question—yes, I may have listed everything, but honestly, that’s how energized I am.
Solana’s Deep Integration with DePIN
Laser: Many DePIN projects are emerging—some migrating to Solana, others launching natively here, like us. Having spoken with so many teams, what do you see as the top three reasons why so many choose to build on Solana?
Kuleen:
There’s an interesting history here. I believe early adopters like Hivemapper, Helium, or Render chose Solana for two main reasons. First, cultural alignment. From my experience, DePIN founders tend to be among the most pragmatic in crypto. They want to build great products—DePIN is just a means to that end. They need a network that works well: fast, low-cost, reliable, and user-friendly. If you have this engineering-first mindset, you’re naturally drawn to Solana. Culturally, Solana values pragmatism—designed to be cheap, fast, and efficient. This cultural fit was likely a key factor for early DePIN founders.
Second, Solana as a network is genuinely different. Look at on-chain activity data—Solana handles orders of magnitude more transactions than any other active public chain, and it’s been battle-tested at scale. Early on, many noticed Solana was fundamentally designed better. This combination of cultural alignment and technical superiority attracted early builders. Two years ago, these were the main draws—and they still hold true. But Solana has evolved.
Today, Solana is arguably one of crypto’s largest economies. Looking at DEX activity and onboarding of new users—especially those experiencing crypto for the first time—more and more are choosing Solana. For new DePIN projects evaluating ecosystems, Solana offers not only strong technology but deep economic activity. Ultimately, builders want their projects to succeed, and being part of the strongest on-chain economy is crucial. Solana is becoming exactly that.
Lastly, Solana’s community is a major draw. As a DePIN founder on Solana, you’ll find many other talented founders willing to share insights and support. It’s a rapidly growing community, yet still small and tightly knit—people know each other, are open, and helpful. Right now, we’re at a sweet spot: Solana’s tech is scalable, its economy robust, and its collaborative culture thriving. You can even leverage composability between protocols—like Hivemapper using Helium nodes for location validation. If you’re a Hivemapper driver, you can prove your photo’s location using Helium. Because everything runs on a single base layer—Solana—without fragmentation, cross-protocol integration becomes seamless.
In summary, early adoption stemmed from cultural fit, but today Solana attracts projects through technology, economics, and community. It’s now a place where applications can compose with each other effectively.
Laser: Excellent insights—culture, technology, and economy. These aren’t just reasons DePIN projects choose Solana—they’re also why Solana has emerged as a leader this cycle. I’d like to share Starpower’s perspective too. When we started two years ago, seeing projects like Helium migrate to Solana gave us confidence and a blueprint for building smart contracts here. Additionally, the potential user base in energy far exceeds that of wireless hotspot users. We already have around 20,000 devices, each reporting data on-chain every few minutes—potentially generating 3–5 million daily transactions. From a technical standpoint, Solana isn’t just “a good option”—it’s mandatory for us. No other chain meets our needs. And yes, Solana also has the largest user base.
How to Improve Solana
Kuleen: Let me reframe the question—where do you wish the developer experience on Solana could improve? Solana has many strengths, but what could be better?
Laser: Honestly, I’ve received tremendous support from you personally, Kuleen—your responsiveness has been outstanding. I wonder how Solana can sustain this culture of engagement as more and more projects build here. That might be a challenge.
Kuleen:
This is something we think about often. Here’s an insight many may not know: the Solana Foundation currently has only about 50–60 people—it’s not a large organization. Some are surprised by this, especially given the ecosystem’s scale. Interestingly, this size has remained stable over the past two years—neither shrinking nor expanding dramatically. One reason is our commitment to maintaining high individual quality standards. It’s not a place for everyone. We also embrace a “small government” philosophy. We don’t want the Foundation to grow proportionally with the ecosystem. We don’t want teams to depend on us for validation. People often ask, “I’m building X—do you think I should?” or “What should I build?” My response: don’t ask me. I’m not your customer. Maybe sometimes I am, but usually not. My role is to help solve your problems—so tell me what you’re building and what resources you need. We have a clear view of the Foundation’s role: remain small relative to the ecosystem, while ensuring strong support for builders. As developer numbers grow, we must find scalable ways to maintain this. I can’t be on Telegram 24/7, though some might wish I did. So we’re focusing on building scalable processes. I appreciate your feedback—we think about this constantly.
Energy as a Key Frontier in DePIN
Laser: Yes, there are different approaches—one being expanding the Foundation team, the other being fostering more peer-to-peer community interaction, as you mentioned, allowing teams to learn and support each other organically as the ecosystem grows exponentially.
I have one more question. I recall we’ve discussed this before—energy is becoming a leading topic in DePIN. What’s your take? Is energy a primary focus for Solana’s DePIN strategy?
Kuleen:
Absolutely. It’s fair to say energy is one of the most exciting frontiers I anticipate over the next 6–12 months.
Several reasons.
First, at a macro level, the world now recognizes that energy infrastructure must change. Climate change is real, with increasingly severe impacts—intensifying hurricanes, extreme weather. Second, global energy demand is poised to surge, driven by AI and large language models’ computational needs. Historically, a nation’s wealth correlates strongly with energy consumption. As more regions develop economically, energy use will rise. These forces will converge over the next 5–10 years, yet traditional energy infrastructure evolves slowly.
Meanwhile, renewable energy costs—especially solar—are plummeting. Solar panel manufacturing costs are declining faster than Moore’s Law predicted for semiconductors. Renewables are now cost-competitive and increasingly viable. All these factors are aligning.
Energy is inherently a distributed challenge—transporting and storing energy isn’t free, so you need localized hardware. That’s precisely where DePIN excels. Much of my excitement comes from this alignment. Even governments—like the U.S.—are now offering large-scale subsidies, adding financial momentum.
But what’s truly accelerated my focus over the past 8–9 months is the emergence of the final, perhaps most critical ingredient: talented founders stepping up to tackle this—founders like you. Without capable people, none of the other conditions matter. Now that talent is here, everything can move forward.
Attracting Traditional Industry Talent to Web3
Laser: I completely agree. I follow a similar thought process—starting high-level, then drilling into specific challenges and solutions, seeing how these factors amplify each other. Personally, coming from traditional finance, I knew nothing about energy. But all these signals drew me in. Another point you raised is talent. It’s a great time for energy, but as a Web3 project, attracting talent from Web2 remains tough. My co-founder, Dr. Darcy, spent nearly a decade in renewables. Previously, recruiting energy professionals into Web3 felt nearly impossible. But thanks to the last bull run, people now understand Bitcoin, blockchain, and DePIN projects like Helium and Filecoin. Darcy himself discovered DePIN during that cycle and saw its potential to address solar energy challenges.
Kuleen:
On talent, I’d add this: you’re absolutely right—recruiting for crypto-native roles is hard. Traditional industries often lack understanding or hold negative views. After FTX collapsed in late 2022 or early 2023, mentioning crypto could get you dismissed outright. But things shift fast. Take last week’s election—regardless of your view, I sense it’s lowering perceived regulatory risk, boosting token prices, and making more people open to crypto. During bear markets, no one wants in; during bull runs, everyone does—but then you face a new problem: distinguishing those who are genuinely committed from those chasing quick profits. Recruitment challenges evolve with market cycles.
DePIN vs. DeVIN: Comparison and Future Outlook
Laser: Totally agree. Also, global trends—regardless of political stance, credit Trump for reigniting bullish sentiment in crypto. Final question: DeVIN versus DePIN projects—what’s your take? To me, decentralized virtual (DeVIN) projects seem easier to onboard users, while DePIN faces steeper hurdles. Even Helium, the largest DePIN project, has only about a million physical device users. How do you view this? Does Solana favor DeVIN or DePIN?
Kuleen:
I don’t think there’s a preference. It’s about trade-offs. DeVIN may have easier user onboarding, but sustaining competitive advantage is harder. The ease of installing software means users can switch between competing apps quickly. In some areas, we’ll see aggregation—e.g., users maximizing bandwidth revenue by selling to the highest bidder. Tools like Jupiter may emerge to aggregate across DeVIN protocols, just as DePIN aggregators appear. Each has unique strengths. Projects like Grass solve real problems in powerful ways. They belong in the ecosystem—but as a business or protocol, they must figure out user retention.
With DePIN, users make higher upfront investments—installing hardware—which increases commitment and long-term engagement. Once you overcome that barrier, users are less likely to install a competitor’s device due to the effort involved and limited incremental gain. So both paths have bright futures, but face different challenges depending on the problem and network type.
Laser: Sounds like DePIN users are more loyal.
Kuleen:
Exactly—a moat for DePIN. If you’re the dominant player like Helium, it’s hard for competitors to displace you quickly.
Laser: Yes. I think we’re wrapping up. Kuleen, any final thoughts or insights you’d like to share?
Kuleen:
No specific insights at the moment. But if you’re listening and considering building in DePIN, feel free to reach out—I’d love to chat. If you’re building on Solana and hit roadblocks or see room for improvement, let me know. That kind of feedback is invaluable. If you’re just exploring ideas, I’m happy to discuss. I won’t claim to have insights, but I deeply value hearing from builders.
Laser: Amazing, Kuleen. You’re the best contact I’ve had at the Solana Foundation. Thank you so much for your time.
Kuleen: Thank you
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