In the past decade there have been significant advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning as an increasingly important branch of computer science. Many of these innovations have taken place in proprietary environments led by Web 2.0 tech giants such as Google or Facebook as well as startups like OpenAI.

As important as their contributions can be, the ongoing development of AI applications and tools could benefit from a decentralized, open source approach. Openfabric (opens new window) is a platform for building and connecting apps in an ecosystem where everyone has quick, easy, low-cost, and hassle-free access to powerful AIs. It leverages Web3 infrastructure to address the most challenging problems faced by AI platforms and:

• Lower the infrastructure demand and technical know-how required to utilize AI, facilitating new market opportunities.
• Stimulate fair market competition as an essential factor to create large, vibrant, and collaborative communities.
• Leverage blockchain technologies to ensure execution scalability and eliminate vendor lockup.

The main components of the platform are:

• Openfabric dApp store: A marketplace providing the end-user with access to platform functionalities.
• Openfabric toolkit: A collection of IDE extensions, CLI tools, libraries, frameworks, and development tools used by AI innovators.
• Openfabric SDK: A development kit that provides programmatic access to the platform’s key functionalities.
• Openfabric daemon: A representation of the client maintaining the connection to the network.

Decentralized Storage in an AI Ecosystem

Openfabric started in 2019 as a research project. The idea behind it was that the exponential value in the field’s next generation of technological advancements needed to take advantage of blockchain, advanced cryptography, and novel infrastructure.

To this end, the project focused on developing a decentralized operating system (DOS) that resembled the logical structure of a traditional OS, including an application layer, a kernel layer, and a resource layer. The DOS is in charge of supervising the services, resources, and processes that happen on Openfabric’s peer-to-peer network.

IPFS is a core component of the DOS developed by Openfabric, specifically on the resource layer. As a decentralized storage solution, it is the tool of choice for replicating AI binaries, ontologies, and data models that need to be stored for users looking to benefit from AI applications.

What’s Next

The Openfrabic platform is currently in private testnet and is preparing to launch its first public version by Q3 2022. Early innovators are already being onboarded and receiving educational material (opens new window) on how to use Openfabric. You can learn more about the project ahead of launch on Twitter (opens new window), Telegram (opens new window), or by visiting the official website (opens new window) and Linktree (opens new window).