Welcome to the ORA Research Platform! In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps for submitting your Initial Model Offering (IMO) proposal, helping you bring your AI project to life with the support it needs. IMO is ORA’s bold initiative to radically democratize AI, fueling open-source research and empowering innovators by providing funding and GPU.
At ORA, No idea is too big—let’s build the future of AI.
1. What is IMO and Who is it for?
ORA’s Initial Model Offering (IMO) is a funding mechanism for open-source developers and researchers to secure GPU and monetary support. It’s designed for both research-focused and application-based AI projects, from early concepts to fine-tuned models ready for deployment. Whether you’re training custom models or building innovative applications, IMO gives you access to the computing power you need to bring groundbreaking ideas to life.
A successful example of IMO is OLM (OpenLM RevShare Token), the first tokenized AI model on Ethereum. With the support of IMO, OLM developed three fine-tuned Open Language Models, including ChatOLM (an on-chain chatbot), SearchOLM (a decentralized search engine alternative to Perplexity), and f(A.I.)r Launch (a tool leveraging AI models to optimize project allocations).
ORA is here to supercharge innovation in the decentralized AI landscape.
At ORA, we believe that the IMO process will help incubate the next state-of-the-art (SoTA) AI models. Our vision is to create a decentralized platform where groundbreaking AI models and applications can be built, funded, and scaled collaboratively by the community.
2. What ORA Provides
As part of the IMO process, ORA offers unparalleled support to help AI researchers and developers transform their ideas into reality. Here’s what you’ll gain:
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Hardware Resources (180 High-Performance GPUs)
Access 180 high-performance GPUs designed to handle demanding AI workloads. Whether training large-scale transformer models or fine-tuning smaller models, our infrastructure ensures your computing needs are met.
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OAO Model Integration (66k+ Active Users & 180k+ Onchain Inference Usages)
Integrate your model with the Onchain AI Oracle (OAO) to connect with 66,000+ active users and support 180,000+ onchain inferences. OAO serves as the gateway for decentralized AI applications, expanding your reach within the ORA ecosystem.
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Tora Node Network (580+ Nodes)
Leverage the 580+ decentralized Tora nodes, which ensure your OAO-integrated models deliver reliable, high-performance AI solutions, even under heavy demand.
With ORA, you’ll have the resources and ecosystem support to build impactful AI innovations in the decentralized landscape.
3. Submission Guideline
Submitting a proposal is simple: click the “Add a Topic” button in the top-right corner of the forum to create a new post. Your proposal will be publicly visible for ORA ecosystem members to review, comment on, and vote.
What the IMO Platform Supports
The IMO platform is designed to empower open-source projects at any stage, including but not limited to:
- On-going AI projects needing GPU resources for successful launches
- Model training, fine-tuning, and general AI research
- AI agents, multi-agent ecosystems, and agent related applications
You can think of this as your project or research proposal. Even at the ideation stage, you’re welcome to apply with a clear execution plan.
What the IMO Platform Does Not Support
The IMO platform is not intended for closed-source projects that only benefit a small group of people. Since IMO resources are free—contributed by the community through collective funding—your project must be transparent and open, allowing the community to see, attest to, and validate its progress at every stage of development.
Proposal Structure
To ensure your proposal covers all the necessary information, it is recommended to include the following sections:
- Abstract: A concise summary of the proposal.
- Motivation: Explain the problem your project addresses and why it’s worth pursuing.
- Methodology: Provide a detailed technical description of your approach.
- Expected Outcomes: Describe the results you aim to achieve and any potential integrations within ORA’s ecosystem, if applicable.
- Resource Requirements: Specify the number of GPUs needed and the anticipated duration of usage.
- Contact Information (optional): Provide relevant contact details to facilitate communication with the ORA team during the review and resource allocation process.
4. Proposal Status Tracking
Once submitted, proposals will remain in Draft status until they are officially submitted for review. After submission, they will transition to Under Review status.
ORA will only contact those whose proposals are Accepted. If accepted, the project will proceed with resource allocation, and the submitter will be notified directly. Proposals are typically reviewed within 7-14 days. If you have not been contacted, your proposal has not been selected for this round, but you can refine and resubmit it for future consideration.
No updates will be provided for proposals that are not accepted.
Possible project statuses include:
- Draft: Proposal is still being prepared and has not been submitted.
- Under Review: Proposal has been submitted and is being evaluated.
- Accepted: Proposal has been approved, and the team will proceed with resource allocation.
- In Progress: Work is underway; resources are allocated at various stages, and progress will be validated periodically.
- Implemented: Proposal has been successfully implemented.
Reviewing and Approval Process
Once a proposal is submitted, the ORA team will review it based on the following criteria:
- Technical Feasibility: Does the project demonstrate a solid technical foundation in AI?
- Innovation and Use Case: Is the proposal solving a unique problem or introducing an innovative approach?
- Community Impact: Will the project significantly contribute to open-source AI communities?
5. Post-Acceptance: Next Steps
If your proposal is accepted, ORA will provide the necessary resources to help your project move forward. Here’s what happens next:
- IMO Announcement: Your project will be publicly listed on ORA’s pages for the community to review and contribute to.
- Resource Allocation: ORA will allocate the required resources for your project, including computing power, data, and funding.
- Token Launch: Once fundraising is complete, a unique IMO token will be launched to secure further funding for your project.
6. IMO License
To further enhance the IMO concept and add value for IMO token holders, we are offering the IMO License (similar to the MIT License in open source) for projects to adopt.
The IMO License is designed to align the interests of model creators and IMO token holders (the funders of the project) by establishing a framework for value sharing. It ensures that any commercial use of models developed through IMO will generate benefits for token holders, creating a more sustainable and rewarding ecosystem for all participants.
Here is the version 0.1 of IMO License: IMO License v0.1 - ☉ - IMO (Initial Model Offering) - ORA.
7. Community Feedback
We encourage everyone to discuss proposals with the community on the ORA forum before submitting them for review. This allows submitters to gather feedback, refine their ideas, and build support from community members. Early engagement can help identify potential challenges and improve the overall quality of the proposal.
Community members can review and provide feedback on submitted proposals by following these steps:
- Explore Proposals: Visit the Proposal Marketplace to browse active submissions.
- Click on a Proposal: Open the proposal page to view detailed information about the project.
- Leave Feedback: Provide comments, ask questions, or offer constructive feedback. Your input is valuable to both the project team and ORA reviewers.
8. IMO Request: Empowering the Community to Shape AI
Another way of leveraging IMO is through IMO Requests, where you can propose project ideas and stake ORA tokens to attract community support and developers to help realize your vision. This process will be detailed in an upcoming blog post.
Disclaimer
All rules and guidelines outlined in this document are subject to change based on developments in the blockchain and AI ecosystems. ORA reserves the right to update or modify these rules to ensure the platform remains aligned with industry standards and community needs.
All tokens issued through IMO events are independent and not associated with ORA.
The final interpretation of all rules and processes rests with ORA.