[Proposal setup] Proposal title
Please provide your proposal title
Cardano SmartAssess Identity
[Proposal Summary] Budget Information
Enter the amount of funding you are requesting in ADA
180000
[Proposal Summary] Time
Please specify how many months you expect your project to last
10
[Proposal Summary] Translation Information
Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated
No
Original Language
en
[Proposal Summary] Problem Statement
What is the problem you want to solve?
Resume fraud costs $600B/annum, with 78% of applications containing inaccuracies. Verification is centralized, labor-intensive, fragmented, non-portable, creating risks like breaches and inefficiency.
[Proposal Summary] Supporting Documentation
Supporting links
[Proposal Summary] Project Dependencies
Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?
No
Describe any dependencies or write 'No dependencies'
No dependencies
[Proposal Summary] Project Open Source
Will your project's outputs be fully open source?
No
Please provide details on the intellectual property (IP) status of your project outputs, including whether they will be released as open source or retained under another licence.
Partially open source
[Theme Selection] Theme
Please choose the most relevant theme and tag related to the outcomes of your proposal
Identity & Verification
[Campaign Category] Category Questions
Describe what makes your idea innovative compared to what has been previously launched in the market (whether by you or others).
The global recruitment industry is experiencing a severe trust crisis, illustrated by several critical challenges.
Resume Fraud Epidemic
- 78% of organizations report inaccuracies in resumes (SHRM 2024).
- 50% of candidates embellish their qualifications, and 30% fabricate their experience.
- Employers face annual costs exceeding $600 billion due to mismatched hires, high turnover, and reduced productivity.
- Fraudulent resume information is typically detected 18 months after hiring.
Verification Bottleneck
- Manual credential verification requires 15–20 hours per hire.
- Employers use fragmented verification channels, such as phone calls, emails, and third-party services.
- No standardized or interoperable credential format exists across organizations.
- Educational institutions lack efficient channels for credential verification.
Centralized Single Points of Failure
- The 2017 Equifax breach compromised 147 million records.
- Employer HR databases are prime targets for hackers due to their sensitive data.
- Talent platforms (e.g., LinkedIn) lead to single vendor lock-in.
- Credentials remain trapped within proprietary systems, making them non-transferable.
Lack of Student and Candidate Credential Portability
- Interview results and assessments are owned by employers rather than candidates.
- Candidates cannot independently prove their interview performance.
- Educational credentials are siloed by institutions.
- No mechanisms exist for cross-institutional credential recognition.
Existing recruitment solutions suffer notable limitations. No current solution effectively merges decentralized identity, AI-driven interview evaluation, and blockchain-anchored credentials specifically tailored for recruitment, highlighting a crucial gap SmartAssess Identity aims to fill by combining these technologies for secure, transparent, and efficient hiring.
Centralized Verification Services
- Examples: Equifax, HireRight, Checkr, and Background.com.
- Limitations: (1) Risk of data breaches due to single points of failure. (2) Lack of transparency in decision-making processes. (3) Privacy concerns: data is retained indefinitely. (4) Limited interoperability across platforms.
AI-Powered Interview Platforms
- Examples: HireVue, Pymetrics, Montage, and Talview.
- Limitations: (1) Assessment scores remain proprietary and cannot be transferred.
- (2) No blockchain anchoring or credential issuance (3) Candidates cannot indepen dently verify their results. (4) Employers retain assessment data, creating lock-in.
Blockchain-Based Identity Solutions
- Examples: Sovrin, Veramo, and Trinsic.
- Limitations: (1) Primarily focused on identity, not on interview or skills assessment.
- (2) Limited integration of AI/ML capabilities. (3) Minimal adoption in the recruitment industry. (4) Few production use cases with measurable impact.
Describe what your prototype or MVP will demonstrate, and where it can be accessed.
The recruitment industry lacks blockchain solutions demonstrating production viability. The MVP is a mobile app with AI powered automated interviews with verifiable credentials on Cardano network. The mobile app will be available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
SmartAssess Identity:
- Proves Cardano’s enterprise readiness for non-financial use cases
- Demonstrates verifiable credential adoption at scale in real industry
- Attracts HR/recruitment software vendors to Cardano ecosystem
- Generates sustainable transaction volume (credential issuance, verification, revocation)
- Validates developer tools for credential anchoring patterns
SmartAssess Identity is a decentralized platform that:
- Evaluates interviews using self-hosted AI models (Voxtral + Llama 3.2)
- Issues W3C-compliant verifiable credentials for interview performance
- Anchors credentials on Cardano via cryptographic hashing (SHA-256)
- Enables zero-trust verification without exposing raw interview data
- Empowers candidates with self-sovereign, portable credentials
- Reduces employer verification time from 15-20 hours to <5 minutes
Describe realistic measures of success, ideally with on-chain metrics.
The platform’s initial pilot aims to achieve over 50 candidate wallets, integrate with more than 5 employers, and issue upwards of 50 verified credentials within ten months.
Global Recruitment Technology Market
- Current: $5.6B (2024)
- Growth: CAGR 12.8%
- Projection: $8.1B (2032)
- SmartAssess Identity TAM: 5-10% of market = $280M-810M
India-Specific Opportunity
- Workforce: 450M+ professionals
- Job applications annually: 350M+
- TAM addressable: $50M-200M (India focus)
Based on our research, we have identified below potential post pilot launch.
1. Employer Subscriptions
- Basic: $100/month (10 credential verifications)
- Professional: $300/month (500+ verifications)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing (unlimited)
- Projected: 50 subscribers × $300 × 12 = $180,000/year
2. Per-Verification Fees
- Transaction fee: 2 ADA (~$0.30-50 USD)
- Projected: 100K verifications × 2 ADA = ₳200,000/year
- Scales with adoption
3. Educational & Institutional Licensing
- Per-institution annual fee: $1,000-5,000
- Credential template customization
- Projected: 20 institutions × $2,000 = $40,000/year
[Your Project and Solution] Solution
Please describe your proposed solution and how it addresses the problem
SmartAssess Identity is a platform that:
- Evaluates interviews using self-hosted AI models (Voxtral + Llama 3.2)
- Issues W3C-compliant verifiable credentials for interview performance
- Anchors credentials on Cardano via cryptographic hashing (SHA-256)
- Enables zero-trust verification without exposing raw interview data
- Empowers candidates with self-sovereign, portable credentials
- Reduces employer verification time from 15-20 hours to <5 minutes
Full project design and architecture - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bKmYBE3XQTM7gyzQQlHboAFCY7GQG9cm/view
The pilot phase focuses on minimal implementation with below components only,
Component 1: Mobile App
- Mobile app with features like audio interview, profile configuration, wallet integation for credential anchoring
- The primary implementation framework will be Flutter with Python based backend
Component 2: AI Interview Evaluation Engine
- Speech Recognition: Self-hosted Voxtral (Mistral AI open-source model)
- Analysis Engine: Self-hosted Llama 3.2 for text analysis and scoring
- Competency Scoring: Custom ML model calibrated to industry benchmarks
- Storage: MongoDB an encrypted S3 (configurable 7-365 day retention)
Component 3: Cardano Hash-Anchored Credentials
- Credential Hash: SHA-256 computed over full credential JSON
- On-Chain Anchoring: Hash + timestamp + minimal metadata stored as Cardano transaction metadata
Component 4: ZK Credential Verification
- dApp with CIP30 ingration for wallet connectivity
- listing and viewing zk commitments
- signature and zk verification for validating commitments
[Your Project and Solution] Impact
Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community
The recruitment industry lacks blockchain solutions demonstrating production viability.
SmartAssess Identity:
- Proves Cardano’s enterprise readiness for non-financial use cases
- Demonstrates ZKproof adoption at scale in real industry
- Attracts HR/recruitment software vendors to Cardano ecosystem
- Generates sustainable transaction volume (credential issuance, verification, revocation)
- Validates developer tools for credential anchoring patterns
[Your Project and Solution] Capabilities & 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?
Experienced Leadership and Team
The project lead has 20+ years of software and AI/ML product leadership, with substantial experience in enterprise cloud and blockchain technologies. This expertise ensures credible technical architecture and project management. A team of skilled AI/ML engineers, blockchain developers, and security architects is planned to execute critical components, further reinforcing delivery capability.
Clear, Phased Implementation Roadmap
The project is broken down into 9 detailed milestones across a 10-month timeline, each with specific deliverables and measurable success criteria, such as speech-to-text accuracy (>99%), integration with pilot employers, and on-chain credential issuance. Regular progress updates, public documentation releases, and open-source SDK publication promote transparency and community oversight.
Robust Risk Mitigation
Identified technical, market, and execution risks have mitigation plans including continuous AI model fine-tuning, early pilot partnerships, iterative UX design, security audits, and contingency buffers in scheduling and budgeting. This structured approach enhances project resilience and accountability.
Validation of Feasibility
- Technical Feasibility: Leveraging proven technologies (Voxtral speech model, Llama 3.2 analysis, Cardano transaction metadata anchoring) rooted in existing open-source and Cardano standards demonstrates a concrete technical foundation.
- Pilot Testing: Early-stage testing with 50+ sample interviews and planned employer integrations ensures that components work in real world settings.
- Performance Metrics: Defining clear KPIs (transcription accuracy, credential issuance counts, on-chain transaction volumes) allows for objective assessment of progress and capability.
- Community Engagement: Soliciting feedback through RFCs, beta testing, and transparent reporting ensures continuous validation from stakeholders.
[Milestones] Project Milestones
Milestone Title
Mobile App designs and initial version
Milestone Outputs
- Initial mobile application UI/UX design & implementation completed for iOS and Android.
- Authentication Flow (LinkedIn & Google Authentication) integrate.
- User Profile with resume upload feature (no processing at this stage)
Acceptance Criteria
- Initial version of the Mobile app designs are implemented in figma and UI implemented
- User can login/signup using Google Authentication & LinkedIn
- User profile setup and user can upload resume in mobile app
Evidence of Completion
- video demo povide of the figma designs and mobile app
- video demo to cover login and signup functionality
- video demo to cover resume upload feature
Delivery Month
3
Cost
36000
Progress
20 %
Milestone Title
Resume evaluation AI Engine
Milestone Outputs
- AI engine for interview evaluation (Not open-sourced only Open API spec will be available in the public repository).
- Audio/video interview capture and processing pipeline operating with speech-to-text transcription
- Users competency score is generated
- Initial batch processing of 50+ sample interviews.
Acceptance Criteria
- Video demo provided that include resume is processed by AI engine
- speech to text implemented and demoable
- Competency score available for the user
- Successful processing of 50 sample interviews without critical errors.
Evidence of Completion
- video demo to resume being processed
- video demo of speech to text working
- video demo showing users competency scores
- Demo videos of sample interview processing.
Delivery Month
4
Cost
36000
Progress
40 %
Milestone Title
ZK Proof Credential Schema integration
Milestone Outputs
- Zk Proof Credential schema generated as per the W3C standard
- Open source zk proof credential generation is implemented
- Open source zk poof credential signing is implemented
- Zk commitment is stored as an NFT on cardano preprod testnet
Acceptance Criteria
- zk proof credential schema defined as per w3c standard
- zk proof credential generation code committed and available on github repo
- zk proof credential signing code committed and available on github repo
- zk commitment as NFT and metadata available on preprod for a user
Evidence of Completion
- githu repo link and PR link provided to verify zk credential schema
- pr link provided to verify zk credential generation code
- pr link provided to verify credential signing code
- link to preprod transction with zk metadata and nft containing zk commitment
Delivery Month
6
Cost
36000
Progress
60 %
Milestone Title
Zero trust signature verifcation and UI
Milestone Outputs
- implement offchain zk signature and credential verification (open source)
- UI implemented with code to search and filter UTXOs with zk commitment
- Client UI/dApp implemented where user can connect their wallet to verify the zk claim
Acceptance Criteria
- zk signature verification implemented
- UI developed to connect users wallet and list available zk commitments available in users wallet
- UI developed to verify ZK commitment availabe in users wallet
Evidence of Completion
- PR link on github with zk signature veifiction code
- video demo of the UI to connectl wallet and list available zk credentials for verification
- video demo of the UI where user can connect wallet and verify zk claim
Delivery Month
7
Cost
24000
Progress
70 %
Milestone Title
Pilot Launch
Milestone Outputs
- Pilot deployment with atleast 3 employer integrations live on cardano testnet.
- 50+ candidate wallets created and credentials issued on Cardano preprod testnet.
- project close out report
- project close out video
Acceptance Criteria
- report on integrated atleast 3 employers onboarded to pilot app
- report on number of candidates using pilot app and have processed their resume
- project close out video provided
- project close out report provided
Evidence of Completion
- link to report on pilot usage
- lnk to report on number of candidates onboarded and usage
- link to project close out report
- link to project close out video
Delivery Month
10
Cost
48000
Progress
100 %
[Final Pitch] Budget & Costs
Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources
Category: AI/ML Engineer (7 months FT)
Amount: ₳42,000
Justification: Speech recognition, model training, optimization
Category: Blockchain Developer (8 months FT)
Amount: ₳48,000
Justification: Cardano integration, smart contracts, testnet deployment
Category: Mobile App Developer (3 months PT)
Amount: ₳10,000
Justification: Mobile App UI/UX development
Category: Security Architect (4 months PT)
Amount: ₳11,000
Justification: Zero-trust implementation
Category: Project Lead / Tech Architect (10 months)
Amount: ₳30,000
Justification: Oversight, ecosystem liaison, milestone delivery
Category: Infrastructure and Tools
Amount: ₳18,000
Justification: Cloud compute (S3, MongoDB), CI/CD
Category: Community and Reporting
Amount: ₳12,000
Justification: Case studies, technical documentation, conference talks
Category: Contingency (5%)
Amount: ₳9,000
Justification: Unforeseen expenses, scaling adjustments
TOTAL ₳180,000
10-Month Pilot Phase
[Final Pitch] Value for Money
How does the cost of the project represent value for the Cardano ecosystem?
The SmartAssess Identity project offers strong value for money based on a clear, realistic budget aligned with tangible deliverables, measurable impact, and a sustainable model.
- Budget Efficiency: The total funding request of ₳180,000 covers a 10-month pilot phase involving 3-4 full-time equivalents, including AI/ML engineer, blockchain specialist, security architect, and project lead. The monthly cost per full-time equivalent is approximately ₳15,000–₳18,000, which is reasonable for specialized technical talent and enterprise-grade software development.
- Tangible Deliverables: The project commits to delivering a working prototype on Cardano testnet within 10 months, including integration with at least 5 employers, issuance of 50+ verifiable credentials, public open-source, and detailed milestone reports with success criteria. This ensures the vested funding converts directly to usable technology and ecosystem tools.
- Impact Metrics: The solution addresses a $600 billion annual problem of resume fraud, with a projected 70% reduction in manual verification time (from 15-20 hours to under 5 minutes per hire), leading to substantial cost savings for employers.
- Return on Investment: Post-pilot, the project projects potential annual revenues between $280,000 to $480,000 from employer subscriptions, verification fees, and institutional licensing, positioning the product on a strong path to profitability and self-sustainability without further Catalyst funding reliance.
- Ecosystem Benefits: In addition to direct commercial outcomes, the project delivers public goods through open-source developer tools, reusable credential anchoring patterns, and integration templates that grow the Cardano developer ecosystem, multiplying the value beyond the immediate business case.
In summary, the funding requested is proportionate to the technical complexity and expected benefits. The project offers Cardano a high return on investment by providing a real-world, enterprise-grade use case, measurable network growth, and a sustainable business model that leverages Catalyst support as a strategic bootstrap rather than ongoing subsidy.
[Self-Assessment] Self-Assessment Checklist
I confirm that evidence of prior research, whitepaper, design, or proof-of-concept is provided.
Yes
I confirm that the proposal includes ecosystem research and uses the findings to either (a) justify its uniqueness over existing solutions or (b) demonstrate the value of its novel approach.
Yes
I confirm that the proposal demonstrates technical capability via verifiable in-house talent or a confirmed development partner (GitHub, LinkedIn, portfolio, etc.)
Yes
I confirm that the proposer and all team members are in good standing with prior Catalyst projects.
Yes
I confirm that the proposal clearly defines the problem and the value of the on-chain utility.
Yes
I confirm that the primary goal of the proposal is a working prototype deployed on at least a Cardano testnet.
Yes
I confirm that the proposal outlines a credible and clear technical plan and architecture.
Yes
I confirm that the budget and timeline (≤ 12 months) are realistic for the proposed work.
Yes
I confirm that the proposal includes a community engagement and feedback plan to amplify prototype adoption with the Cardano ecosystem.
Yes
I confirm that the budget is for future development only; excludes retroactive funding, incentives, giveaways, re-granting, or sub-treasuries.
Yes
[Required Acknowledgements] Consent & Confirmation
I Agree
Yes