The Cortex blockchain platform stands as an open-source, peer-to-peer decentralized platform built on Ethereum, facilitating the execution and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) models across a distributed network. Cortex aims to democratize AI by simplifying the integration of models into smart contracts and their transformation into decentralized applications (DApps). In essence, smart contracts, functioning as protocols on the blockchain, replace traditional paper contracts. Prior to the Cortex team's innovation, there existed no efficient and deterministic means to facilitate on-chain machine learning models. Consequently, DApps, inclusive of machine learning models, relied on off-chain inferences, undermining the purpose of smart contracts. Cortex addresses this challenge through the Cortex Virtual Machine (CVM), leveraging GPU instead of CPU for efficient machine learning execution on the blockchain. This platform empowers the integration of machine learning models into smart contracts and DApps. Developers harness the widely used Solidity language and off-the-shelf AI models to create AI-enhanced DApps and smart contracts. Cortex introduces an incentivization mechanism for AI developers to store models on the blockchain. This approach grants blockchain developers access to a wide array of top-tier AI models globally, fostering healthy competition among AI model providers and driving continual improvement within the ecosystem.