Company Name (if applicable)

Project details

Socious proposes to develop a robust MultiParty Escrow (MPE) smart contract implementation on the Cardano blockchain. We'll leverage our extensive experience in both EVM-based and Cardano-native blockchain development, including successful deployments on Cardano's sidechain Milkomeda and hands-on experience with Aiken smart contracts.

This project aims to create a secure, efficient, and flexible payment channel system for SingularityNET's Decentralized AI Platform and AI Marketplace. By harnessing Cardano's unique features, such as its Extended UTxO (EUTxO) model and native tokens, our implementation will optimize for Cardano's architecture, facilitating efficient and trustworthy interactions within the SingularityNET ecosystem.

Our expertise in both EVM-based and Cardano-native smart contract development positions us to deliver a high-quality MPE system that adheres to best practices and meets Cardano's specific requirements. This ensures a smooth transition from existing implementations to a Cardano-optimized solution.

The MPE script functionality includes:

• Deposit: Service customers deposit tokens when opening a channel
• Opening payment channels: Users establish channels with specific service providers
• Service consumption: Customers generate off-chain payment claims for each interaction
• Claiming funds: Service providers claim funds by submitting signed payment claims
• Channel expiration and extension
• Channel closure

The MPE system will consist of two main components:

• Channel Token script (Minting policy for payment channel identification)
• Escrow script

Key features of our MPE smart contract implementation will include:

• Channel creation and management
• Secure fund locking and claiming mechanisms
• Time-bound channels with extension capabilities
• Support for partial and full claims
• Multi-channel claims
• Efficient signature verification

The MPE system will facilitate three main roles:

• Sender (Service customer): Deposits tokens and opens channels
• Recipient (Service provider): Claims funds for services provided
• Signer (Daemon service): Off-chain service hosted on the service provider's side

Our implementation will prioritize security, efficiency, and user experience. Key considerations include:

• Handling only one token type (Asset Class) per MPE instance
• Time management using absolute slot numbers for transaction validity checks
• Transparent identification of transactions interacting with the MPE
• Design for future upgradability without disrupting existing channels

Throughout the development process, our team will conduct thorough testing and auditing to ensure the reliability and robustness of the smart contract. We are committed to creating comprehensive documentation and developer resources to facilitate the adoption and integration of the MPE system by the Cardano community.

In conclusion, Socious is uniquely positioned to deliver a high-quality MultiParty Escrow (MPE) smart contract implementation for Cardano. Our solution will optimize micro-transactions for AI services, contributing significantly to the growth and capabilities of the SingularityNet and Cardano ecosystems.

Team

Our team is uniquely positioned to deliver this project successfully for three key reasons:

1. We have a proven track record with SingularityNet/Deep Funding, having successfully delivered two Deep Funded projects. Our experience with the SingularityNET marketplace facilitates our ability to implement multiparty escrow smart contracts effectively.
2. We possess extensive expertise with Solidity escrow smart contracts, regularly deploying them on Milkomeda (Cardano's sidechain). This enables us to translate the current Solidity implementation seamlessly into Cardano's EUTXO system. Our Solidity escrow smart contracts can be found here.
3. We have hands-on experience with Cardano's escrow smart contracts using Aiken. Our team brings expertise from top-tier DeFi protocols like SundaeSwap and IT consulting firms such as Obsidian. You can view our Cardano escrow smart contracts here. We're also capable of writing smart contracts in Haskell/Plutus if needed.

These capabilities position us to execute this project with the highest standards of trust and accountability.

Socious is a rapidly growing impact startup revolutionizing the talent marketplace. We connect purpose-driven professionals with impact organizations through AI-powered matching, using blockchain to trace impact work and reward contributions.

Backed by 500Global, Microsoft, and Milkomeda Foundation, our platform has over 80,000 job listings, 30,000 organizations, and 8,500 registered users. Our diverse team brings together experts in impact measurement, finance, data science, and blockchain development.

We have 10 full-time members and 20+ part-time contributors. Our key team members include:

• Seira Yun

Title: Founder and CEO

Role: Product Ownership, Project Management, Research

Linkedin

Bio:

Seira Yun is a Cardano Ambassador and an ICC member as well as an active member of SingularityNet/Deep Funding. He is a serial impact entrepreneur and an impact angel investor with years of experience in the impact sector, leading teams within the ICRC, UNHCR, and social ventures. As a full-stack developer with a Master's degree in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge, Seira enjoys blending technology with purpose. Upon exiting his first social venture in 2021, he founded Socious, a decentralized talent marketplace that uses blockchain for verified certificates and AI for matching individuals to meaningful jobs, eliminating background checks and fostering social and environmental change. He is also a board member at TELL, a suicide prevention non-profit. When not working, you can find Seira shooting hoops, running, reading, and spending quality time with his kids.

• Elaine Cardenas

Title: Head of Product

Role: Blockchain Development, Product Management.

Bio:

Elaine has been coding in Haskell and other functional programming languages for the past 7 years and building on the Cardano blockchain for the past 3 years. Prior to joining Socious, she worked for Sundae Labs, contributing to the SundaeSwap V3 implementation and Hydra development. She also worked at Obsidian, an IT consulting company, where she helped Starbucks with its loyalty points system. Elaine is an active Cardano community member and serves as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Ehsan Mahmoudi

Title: Lead Developer

Role: Backend/Blockchain/AI Engineering

LinkedIn

Bio: More than 8 years of experience in Python and Machine Learning as well as extensive experience in blockchain development. Ehsan has worked for global startups including Rechat, AEC, and Navaak. Ehsan is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Chrisanne Yee

Title: Founder’s Associate

Role: Project Management Assistant, Admin and Finance.

LinkedIn

Bio:

Chrisanne is trilingual in English, Chinese and Japanese. She has experience with marketing and business development. Chrisanne is an active Cardano community member and serves as an alternate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Taichi Yokoyama

Role: Communication and Marketing

LinkedIn

Bio:

Taichi is an entrepreneur and a Cardano Stake Pool Operator (AIRX). Taichi is an active Cardano community member and serves as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in Argentina.

• Minh Douangprachanh

Title: Lead Designer

Role: Design

LinkedIn

Bio: With more than a decade of experience specializing in product design, Minh is a multidisciplinary artist who has always believed art has a language of its own. As a neurodiverse individual, Minh is passionate about helping people and creating sustainable and inclusive solutions. Minh is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Sanaz Mahmoudi

Title: Senior Frontend Developer

Role: Frontend Development

LinkedIn

Bio: An experienced frontend developer with 7+ years of experience. Sanaz is a Cardano community member for the past 2 years.

• Marjan Arami

Title: Senior Frontend Developer

Role: Frontend Development

Bio: An experienced frontend developer with 10+ years of experience. Marjan is a Cardano community member for the past 2 years.

• Azin Zare

Title: QA Engineer

Role: Quality Assurance

LinkedIn

Bio: An experienced QA engineer with 9+ years of experience. Azin is a Cardano community member for the past 3 years.

• Mohammad Balkhani

Title: Software Engineer

Role: Backend and DevOps Engineering

Commitment: Full-time

LinkedIn

Bio: An experienced software engineer with 7+ years of experience. Mohammad is a Cardano community member for the past year.

Our fund management adheres strictly to legal and financial compliance. All transactions are documented and internally audited. We partner with external accounting firms for compliance assurance: Tatsumi Accounting Firm for our Japanese entity and BBCIncorp for our Singaporean entity. We also work with Enlighten Law Group for legal compliance. This multi-layered approach ensures trust and accountability in our fund management.

Open Source Licensing

Our project is proudly open source, licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3). This license allows others to freely use, modify, and distribute our code, under the condition that any derivative work will also be open source under the GPLv3. This fosters collaboration and community-driven development, as it encourages other developers to contribute to our project, or to use our code as a starting point for their own projects, thus driving innovation in the sector.

By making our project open source, we aim to contribute to the global movement of shared knowledge and collaborative problem solving. This approach ensures transparency, promotes the sharing of knowledge, and encourages a collective approach to addressing the challenges associated with the impact job sector. Ultimately, we believe that open-sourcing our project will lead to a more robust, efficient, and impactful solution, thanks to the contributions of the global developer community.

Links and references

Company website: https://socious.io

Company github: https://github.com/socious-io

Company Linktree: https://linktr.ee/socious

Solidity escrow smart contracts: https://github.com/socious-io/socious-smart-contracts

Cardano escrow smart contracts: https://github.com/socious-io/aiken-contracts

Additional videos

Explanation video:

https://youtu.be/r9D3WJSTtLE