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[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language.

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

We are creating a decentralized platform on Cardano providing secure and efficient ML model hosting, enabling creators to earn through user fees.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies.

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Our project takes a selective open-source approach, ensuring the security and privacy of user data, machine learning models, and datasets, especially those that are sensitive or not publicly available. At the same time, we will open-source key components like smart contracts to maintain transparency and trust within the community.

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution.

We start by giving an overview of our plan for the whole project and will then detail the scope of this proposal.

General overview:

Here is a description of the individual points:

AI Model Sharing and Evaluation

• Unified API Infrastructure: Streamlines the process of integrating and evaluating diverse AI models.
• Pay-per-Use Model: Flexible pricing structure allowing users to pay per model evaluation.
• Local Inference and API-Based Inference: Offers both on-premise and cloud-based model deployment options.

Customization Services (Model Fine-Tuning)

• Tailored AI Solutions: Customization of existing AI models to meet specific user needs.
• User-Specific Adaptations: Ability to adapt models based on unique user data and requirements.

Model Insights and Analytics

• Performance Metrics: Detailed analytics on model performance, accuracy, and efficiency.
• User Feedback Integration: Incorporating user feedback for continuous model improvement.
• Market Insights: Providing insights on market trends and user preferences in the AI space.

Model Certification

• Quality Assurance: Implementing benchmarks and standards for model certification.
• Certification Services: Providing a seal of approval for models that meet high-quality standards.
• Credibility Boost: Enhancing the marketability and trustworthiness of certified models.

Data Marketplace (in Partnership)

• High-Quality Datasets: Access to a wide range of curated, labeled datasets suitable for various AI models.
• Seamless Integration: Easy integration of datasets with AI models within the marketplace.

Diverse Data Sources: Collaboration with trusted partners to ensure a rich and diverse data repository.

This proposal:

This proposal is specifically focused on developing a user-friendly, efficient, and secure interface for our Cardano-based decentralized platform for ML model hosting. The interface will be the primary means for users to interact with the platform, enabling them to host, access, and utilize machine learning models easily.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community.

The last few years have seen remarkable growth in Machine Learning models and AI capabilities. These advancements have great potential to revolutionize a broad range of industries. However, within the Cardano ecosystem, the potential of AI services is largely untapped. This project aims to change that by developing an active AI community within the Cardano community. We will enhance Cardano's utility by integrating AI and ML capabilities, making them available to a broader audience, including both AI experts and AI enthusiasts who want to get started in this field.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

Demonstrating Capability:

Our team consists of skilled professionals with extensive experience in blockchain technology, smart contract development, and AI systems. This includes developers proficient in Cardano's smart contract language, Plutus, as well as experts in AI model development and marketplace dynamics.

Trust and Accountability by Regular Progress Updates:

We will regularly release updated on the progress of the project, including milestones achieved, challenges faced, and solutions implemented. This ensures continuous engagement and transparency throughout the project. Moreover, our project timelines contains several rounds of testing and collecting community feedback. These phases also serve as a validation process for our approach and design decisions. By incorporating feedback from these testing rounds, we can make data-driven improvements and ensure that the interface meets the needs and expectations of its users.

[Project Milestones] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Interface Design, Feedback Collection, and Analysis (2 Months):

• This phase focuses on developing the initial wireframes and design prototypes for the user interface. It includes extensive user experience research and conducting surveys to gather input on design preferences and usability.
• After the initial design phase, we will collect feedback from the community. This feedback will be important in analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the designs and identifying areas for improvement.

User Interface Development (3 Months):

• In this stage, we will translate the refined wireframes and designs into a functional user interface. This involves intensive frontend development work to ensure compatibility across various devices and browsers.
• Preliminary integration with the backend systems will also be initiated to ensure seamless interaction between the user interface and the blockchain/ML hosting backend.

Comprehensive Testing and Iterative Improvements (2 Months):

• This milestone combines alpha and beta testing. We will first conduct alpha testing with a controlled user group to gather initial feedback and quickly iterate on the design and functionality.
• Following alpha testing, beta testing will be expanded to include a broader user group, including the Cardano community, to gather more diverse feedback and further refine the interface.

Final Revisions, Documentation, and Launch Preparation (1 Month):

• The final month will be dedicated to making any last adjustments based on the feedback received during the comprehensive testing phase.
• We will also focus on preparing detailed documentation and user guides to assist users in navigating and utilizing the interface effectively.
• Lastly, we will finalize our launch strategy to ensure a successful rollout of the interface to the public.

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Project Lead & Blockchain Developer: Christoph

• Role: Oversees the entire project, ensuring that milestones are met and align with the project's objectives.
• Responsibilities: Strategic planning, team coordination, stakeholder communication, Writing and testing smart contract code, blockchain integration.

AI Model Specialist & Community Manager: Samy

• Role: Ensures that the AI models are compatible with the smart contract framework, Manages engagement with the open-source community
• Responsibilities: AI model integration, performance optimization, user feedback integration, Facilitating community contributions, managing feedback, ensuring open-source standards, project documention

Samy and Christoph have a combined experience of more than 10 years in blockchain development and as machine learning specialists.

If the project is funded Christoph and Samy are planning on onboarding additional senior developers to the project. This will not be a problem due to there vast network of developer connections.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources.

Interface Design, Feedback Collection, and Analysis:

• Cost: 20,000 ADA
• This budget covers all activities related to initial design, user research, surveys, feedback collection, and analysis.

User Interface Development:

• Cost: 35,000 ADA
• This portion of the budget is allocated for the development of the user interface, including frontend development and preliminary backend integration.

Testing and Iterative Improvements:

• Cost: 20,000 ADA
• This cost covers both alpha and beta testing phases, including resources for collecting and implementing user feedback.

Final Revisions, Documentation, and Launch Preparation:

• Cost: 15,000 ADA
• This includes costs for final development tweaks, preparing comprehensive documentation, user guides, and launch planning activities.

Contingency and Miscellaneous Expenses:

• Cost: 10,000 ADA
• Reserved for unforeseen expenses and additional resources that may be required during the project lifecycle.

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Investing 100,000 ADA in this project promises substantial returns for the Cardano ecosystem

1. Enhancing the Cardano Ecosystem: We introduce a novel interface for decentralized machine learning model hosting. This expands the utility of the Cardano ecosystem, bridging the gap between advanced AI/ML technologies and blockchain, thereby attracting a diverse user base of developers, researchers, and businesses.
2. Attracting New Users and Developers: We anticipate attracting new users and developers to the Cardano platform by providing a user-friendly and efficient interface. This can lead to increased adoption and investment in the Cardano ecosystem, further driving its growth and innovation.
3. Promoting Innovation and Research: The interface will enable researchers and ML engineers to deploy and monetize their models in a decentralized manner. This can lead to new, cutting-edge applications within the Cardano ecosystem, contributing to its reputation as a hub for technological advancement.

[IMPORTANT NOTE] The Applicant agrees to Fund Rules and also that data in the submission form and other data provided by the project team during the course of the project will be publicly available.