Preface

In the rapidly developing fields of blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI), FLock.io (FLOCK), as an innovative decentralized platform, is gradually attracting the attention of investors and developers. The project aims to break down barriers to participation in the ecosystem and provide models, data, or computation in a modular way. FLock.io is not just a technical platform, but also a movement dedicated to promoting the democratization of AI technology.

What is FLock.io?

FLock is a decentralized platform based on blockchain technology that aims to completely change the development, training, and deployment of artificial intelligence models. By introducing the innovative approach of federated learning, FLock successfully solves key issues in traditional AI development, such as centralized control, lack of transparency, and inadequate privacy protection.

FLock's core mission is to democratize artificial intelligence, allowing the community to directly participate in the creation and improvement of AI models. Federated learning allows model training on multiple decentralized devices or servers, while ensuring that data always remains local without the need to exchange raw data. This approach not only protects personal privacy but also promotes the formation of a more inclusive and collaborative ecosystem, enabling contributors from different backgrounds to participate and drive the development of AI technology together.

Project Origin

FLock was founded by Oxford University alumnus Sun Jiahao, who has a rich background in artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. Sun, the CEO of FLock, has an impressive career, having served as the Director of Artificial Intelligence at the Royal Bank of Canada and as a researcher in artificial intelligence at Imperial College London. The vision for FLock stems from a deep understanding of the technical and ethical challenges of artificial intelligence development. The founding team also includes other Oxford alumni with over a decade of combined experience in artificial intelligence research and the cryptocurrency industry. The team brings together outstanding academic achievements and practical expertise, enabling FLock to lead the decentralized artificial intelligence movement.

Loan Background

FLock successfully raised $11 million in two rounds of financing, demonstrating investors' strong confidence in its vision. In May 2024, FLock completed a $6 million seed round of financing led by Lightspeed Faction and Tagus Capital, with support from Digital Currency Group (DCG), Volt Capital, OKX Ventures, and Inception Capital. Later in December 2024, FLock announced the completion of a $3 million financing round, led by DCG, with participation from well-known investment institutions such as Animoca Brands, Fenbushi Capital, GnosisVC, and GSR.

These funds will be used to enhance the testnet and collaborative learning client of FLock, accelerating its goal of achieving secure, collaborative AI development. With contributions from over 1,500 nodes from platforms such as Numerai and Kaggle, FLock is rapidly expanding its influence in the decentralized AI training field.

System Design

The system logic of FLock consists of three main parts, which are AI Arena, FL Alliance, and AI Marketplace.

• AI Arena: In the AI layer, AI Arena supports traditional machine learning workflows, where participants contribute local or public data to improve models.

• FL Alliance: Using federated learning, the AI layer enables participants to collaboratively train global models, keeping local data secure by only sharing model updates (gradients).

• AI Marketplace: Trained and fine-tuned models are hosted on FLock's AI Marketplace, allowing developers and applications to access these models.

Step process
After the task is created, the model is first trained and validated in the blockchain-based decentralized training platform AI Arena. Then, participants can choose to further fine-tune the model in the FL Alliance using their local data. Finally, the model is deployed in the application of the artificial intelligence market, and the feedback is used to further improve the model.

Specifically, when a task is first created in AI Arena, it is initially trained by training nodes, which submit their models to validators. The validators evaluate and score each submission, reaching consensus on these scores to determine the ranking of the submitted models. The agreed model can be allocated to FL clients, who use local data for fine-tuning and improvement, thereby creating an FL global model. The consensus model or FL global model in AI Arena can be deployed and hosted in the AI Marketplace, providing interfaces for various applications. AI Arena's training nodes, validators, and FL clients need to stake in order to participate in the system, and will be rewarded based on their performance.

FLock's innovation lies in its combination of blockchain technology with artificial intelligence development. The immutability of the blockchain ensures that all contributions, including data, computing power, and feedback, can be transparently recorded and fairly rewarded. This transparency enhances trust among participants and protects the entire process from manipulation. In addition, FLock's on-chain incentive mechanism encourages the participation of a wide range of contributors, ensuring fair distribution of rewards. Through a decentralized development process and a focus on transparency and collaboration, FLock enables the community to develop customized artificial intelligence models that meet its specific needs. This not only breaks the monopoly of large tech companies but also creates an artificial intelligence ecosystem that aligns with public ethics and social values.

Main Features

• Decentralized Training

FLock AI's decentralized training framework completely changes the way artificial intelligence is developed. Participants can train models on local devices through federated learning without sharing personal data, ensuring data remains in the hands of the owner while improving the overall accuracy of the models.

• Incentivize Participation

FLock's reward system is designed to encourage active participation, contributors who provide data, computational power, or feedback will receive FLOCK tokens as compensation, ensuring fair distribution of rewards.

• Community Governance

FLock provides a powerful governance framework that allows community members to participate in decision-making, with decisions about the development, deployment, and ethical considerations of AI models driven by the community. Transparency and public accountability are achieved through blockchain voting mechanisms, ensuring alignment with societal values.

• Modular Development

FLock's modular architecture allows contributors to participate in specific aspects of AI model development, whether it's providing raw data, computing power, or improving algorithms, the platform enables a collaborative and scalable development process.

• Privacy and Security

FLock takes privacy and security as its core concept, uses blockchain technology, and ensures that no single entity controls the AI development process. Data is kept locally and encrypted, and the immutability of the blockchain ensures transparency for every transaction and model update.

Token Economics

The total supply of tokens on FLOCK is limited to 1 billion. Initially, only tokens unlocked on the first day are minted, and additional tokens are minted daily through our management smart contract. FLock adopts a 1:2 ratio model for team/investors (33.3%) and community (66.7%), prioritizing community-driven growth and ecosystem expansion. Most of the token allocation is to incentivize user participation and the long-term success of the ecosystem. The distribution is as follows:

Token Issuance Schedule

• Community tokens: no lock-up period; sold for more than 60 months.
• Ecological token: 48-month unlocking period, supporting the gradual development of the ecosystem.
• Team and investors: 12-month lock-up period and 24-month unlock period, in line with long-term project goals.

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Future Outlook

FLock is committed to reshaping the future of AI development through decentralized training processes that ensure transparency, privacy, and inclusivity. Leveraging blockchain technology and federated learning, FLock enables the community to actively participate in the creation of AI models while protecting privacy. Its innovative reward mechanism and community-driven governance model foster a fair and collaborative ecosystem.

With the expanding network of contributors, FLock has established its leadership position in the field of decentralized artificial intelligence, providing a more ethical and secure alternative to traditional AI development. As the scale further expands, FLock will change the way AI models are developed and deployed, driving artificial intelligence towards a more transparent and secure direction.

Summary

As a decentralized platform based on blockchain technology, FLock.io (FLOCK) is leading the transformation of artificial intelligence (AI) development. By combining federated learning and the immutability of blockchain, FLock solves the problems of centralized control, lack of transparency, and insufficient privacy protection in traditional AI development, realizing the democratization of AI technology. FLock's decentralized training framework allows participants to train models without sharing personal data. Its reward system and community governance framework promote fair participation and transparent decision-making. In addition, FLock's modular development emphasizes privacy and security, making it a more inclusive and collaborative AI ecosystem, ultimately achieving an artificial intelligence future that aligns with public morals and social values.