Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) with Multiverse’s Co-Founder Cliff Szu: Breaking The Monopoly on A.I. with Blockchain Technology
Moderator:
Welcome Cliff! Could you introduce yourself and the project?
Cliff S:
Hi, everyone, my name is Cliff Szu, co-founder of Multiverse. I’m from Stanford with my degree in Computer Science and an Economics minor degree. I originally worked at IBM in A.I. and led mobile engineering at a Google-acquired company.
Our project got financed from Matrix Partners, Huobi Ventures, Arrington XRP, Kucoin, Fenbushi Capital, etc. Our founding team graduated from Stanford University and Berkeley and worked at Google, Twitter, Intel, etc.
Moderator:
What do “Multiverse” and “Planets” mean?
Cliff S:
Multiverse enables individuals and organizations to build dApp projects on our decentralized machine-learning platform in a low-code environment with minimal technical barriers to entry. These projects by third party developers are called Planets.
Each Planet project has its own token, product, DEX, economy, governance, leadership, and inflation/deflation rates, all initially determined without code and is then automatically translated into Multiverse smart contract code. No initial coding is necessary, and the associated costs of engineering and code audits are also eliminated.
The economies are all powered by our low-fee DEX. The main token of the Multiverse is the AI token (symbol: AI).
Moderator:
I read the whitepaper and the concept of Multiverse is refreshing! Can you tell us how you thought of such a creative concept, “Multiverse”? And why “Planets”?
Cliff S:
Decentralized apps need their own environments. The more we worked with partners, we realized they have their own requirements for economics, governance, and tokens. We didn’t want a one-size-fits all approach because every project is unique. Multiverse was born.
The Multiverse is like the physics of the universe. It’s just the environment where things exist. The founders and stakers of each project set the rules of each project. That’s why we call these projects planets.
Moderator:
I've noticed that Multiverse is backed by many reputable funds, including Matrix Partners, Huobi ventures, Arrington XRP, Kucoin and Fenbushi Capital. Why did those ventures choose to support Multiverse since 2018? Can you tell us more about the stories between you and them?
Cliff S:
So we’re very lucky to work with some really excellent partners.
They’ve advised us on both testing our hypothesis and also building out use cases with partners. I would be honored to work with them again in the future.
Moderator:
I read that experts think AI is more important than electricity and the Internet, and that it is our most important and final invention. How can that be?
Cliff S:
So this saying is from some famous people at Google and Stanford. So the Internet is incredibly important, and it connects all phones and computers. But artificial intelligence will eventually run every single device whether it is online or offline. Once it is inexpensive to add A.I., there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have intelligence in every device on earth, just like there’s some intelligence in every animal on earth. So it will affect more things than even the Internet.
I think the saying is actually “A.I. is the new electricity, and I think they mean that it will power everything on earth eventually. It’s somewhat similar to how every electric device has a microprocessor in it. Eventually, all of those microprocessors will have artificial intelligence built in. It will be a new paradigm in how the world works.
The difference between A.I. and other industrial revolutions is that those industrial revolutions replaced muscle power with machine power from steam and then electricity. This is different because you are starting to work in the realm of thinking, which is something that has never happened before. It’s hard to overstate how large of a revolution this will be.
Moderator:
Your team is made up of elite engineers from Google, IBM, Intel and Twitter, how did you bring them into the Multiverse project?
Cliff S:
Many of us are friends from Stanford. We took classes together, and even joined startups together. We were groomsmen in each others’ weddings.
I think this is important because our team knows how to work together well. It’s not like a bunch of random people who started a project at a meetup. Those teams often break apart. Many companies fail due to internal tensions and fighting.
Moderator:
Ethereum’s tremendous success has been attributed to the explosive growth in dApps and DeFi. Is Multiverse going to be even more successful and bigger than Ethereum, since A.I. is everywhere and so pervasive in our lives today?
Cliff S:
I have the highest respect for the Ethereum team and Satoshi. There are some other teams that I really respect, like Protocol Labs. I think these teams have really innovated in the space. It’s hard to predict what the future holds, but we are confident that A.I. is a major part of how humanity evolves in this century, and we think we have a unique approach which will open it up to many more participants.
Moderator:
If someone doesn’t know how to code, how do they participate in the Multiverse?
Cliff S:
There are many different ways you can participate in the Multiverse, even if you’ve never written a single line of code. You can immediately start engaging with communities, reading through projects, asking questions and providing feedback to founders, and even supporting planets by swapping into their tokens.
If you’re interested in founding your own planet, all you need to get started is an idea. From there, you’ll want to build a community to refine your idea and better understand what kinds of knowledge and resources you’ll need to bring in to get your planet launched.
Moderator:
Why would developers choose Multiverse over other centralized or decentralized platforms?
Cliff S:
Even though our platform is relatively new, it already is more open than many centralized developer ecosystems.
The ecosystem’s funding model is totally unique where anyone can support a project, and the protections against bad founders is also the strongest we have ever seen.
Moderator:
I heard that I can stake on the Multiverse. Can you tell me how? Is it difficult?
Cliff S:
If you have Multiverse tokens (symbol: AI), to stake you just look through the projects in the Multiverse. Multiverse uses machine learning to help you find projects that you are interested in. Once you find a project you like, you can stake your AI tokens with two clicks. All of the project’s information is public and visible, including founder stake, vesting, and lockups, so everyone has the same data to make fair decisions.
Moderator:
Your news release mentioned “Planet projects have already landed customers for their AI/ML products from some of the world’s largest companies and organizations.” Can you share more?
Cliff S:
So several companies have already used Planets in the Multiverse. Some of those are still confidential, and we’ll announce them in the coming months, but the world’s biggest biotech company, Roche, has used it extensively.
Researchers at US FDA are currently using it; we’re actually meeting with them tomorrow. NASA’s Space Telescope scientists have used it, and researchers at Stanford University have used it in bioengineering.
Moderator:
What are the plans for your project in the immediate future?
Cliff S:
There are some things that we are still under confidentiality for, but there will be a lot of announcements about Multiverse in the coming ten days and we invite you to visit our website, join our Telegram and Twitter.
- Telegram | t.me/multiverselabs
- Reddit | r/multiverselabs
- Twitter | @multiverse_labs
- Linkedin | linkedin.com/company/hadronai
- Official Website | www.multiverse.ai
Moderator:
Why does Multiverse need to use blockchain technology?
Cliff S:
That's a good question. Blockchain is a decentralized technology.
If we made Multiverse a centralized platform, it would be another Google or Tech Giant company, and the world will still be the same as it is. With blockchain technology, we want to make Multiverse a platform that everyone can use and trust.
Blockchain creates an ecosystem that allows for more economic mechanisms and governance rules that are open, transparent and unchangeable, which gives participants in the ecosystem a transparent and fair opportunity to participate.
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Questions from the audience
Question 1: Where can I buy AI tokens?
Cliff S:
Information about where you can buy tokens will be released in the near future. Please stay tuned.
Question 2: Can you tell us about the use and distribution of tokens?
Cliff S:
You can use the tokens for staking, holding or paying for services on different planets, or you can start a planet.
Question 3: This project has a long runway. I’ve noticed that you have been focusing on technology and the longer-term vision of Multiverse. I’ll like to ask about the ticker of the Multiverse token and the tokenomics, can you elaborate on it?
Cliff S:
The ticker of our token is AI. And here are details about our tokenomics:
50% | Allocation to mining, nodes and on-chain network incentives.
25% | Allocation to Team members and developer community
12.5% | Allocation to Private Placement
12.5% | Allocation to Foundation to promote activities within the Multiverse Ecosystem
Question 4: Will an IDO event be conducted for the AI tokens?
Cliff S:
Our platform has its own decentralized exchange, which can help projects raise funds and use AI tokens to initiate projects. Therefore, we will not be conducting an IDO.
Question 5: I’m really looking forward to the development of Multiverse, because it seems to be a technically superior and well-funded project. Is there a reason why you changed the name from HADRON to Multiverse?
Cliff S:
We conducted the rebranding exercise because our platform is multiverse. Therefore, we want to put the focus on Multiverse as its name is easier to remember than HADRON.
We hope you have enjoyed this AMA session! Here’s the original transcript of our AMA in Chinese.