This episode introduces Bitstarter, a critical new platform designed to solve Bittensor's funding and onboarding bottleneck by creating a "Kickstarter for subnets."
Introducing Bitstarter: The On-Ramp for Bittensor
- TAO is the native token of the Bittensor network, used for governance, staking, and as a medium of exchange for accessing AI services.
- Bitstarter’s goal is to transform promising concepts into fully-funded and operational subnets—specialized, competitive AI networks within the broader Bittensor ecosystem.
- The platform centralizes the fragmented process of launching a subnet, connecting builders with capital and expertise in one streamlined workflow.
The Genesis of Bitstarter: From Late-Night Talks to Ecosystem Solution
- Chris, the Communications Director at Macrocosmos, and Brian, a founding engineer who helped build Subnets 9 and 25, leveraged their firsthand experience with the challenges of subnet development.
- Brian recounts how the idea solidified during his stay at Chris's house after moving from Bogota, where they frequently discussed Bittensor's growth hurdles.
- Chris emphasizes that while Macrocosmos supports the initiative, Bitstarter is an independent, protocol-wide project designed to benefit the entire ecosystem. "All the knowledge that we've gained as subnet owners, subnet builders, subnet promoters will go into Bitstarter and we'll enrich it."
The Problem Bitstarter Solves: Overcoming Bittensor's Onboarding Hurdles
- Newcomers often find it difficult to navigate the "128 Discords" and countless GitHub repositories to get feedback on their ideas.
- Designing a robust incentive mechanism that can withstand adversarial miners is a major challenge, and mistakes can be costly.
- Mark Jeffrey shares an anecdote of a new, well-intentioned team that was publicly criticized for being "extractive" simply because they lacked the specific knowledge to build effectively within Bittensor's unique economic model. Bitstarter aims to prevent such situations by providing a supportive "welcome wagon."
The Bitstarter Process: From Idea to Funded Subnet
- Submission and Refinement: Teams submit their white paper to the Bitstarter team, who helps refine it into a concise executive summary.
- Expert Panel Review: The proposal is reviewed by a cross-disciplinary panel of Bittensor experts who provide discretionary advice on incentive design, validation, and commercial models. This acts as a quality filter and an upskilling mechanism.
- Live Crowdfunding Event: Approved projects are featured in a live-streamed event, described as a "Shark Tank" or "Dragon's Den" for Bittensor. During the stream, TAO holders can pledge funds while the team is interviewed by a panel including a subnet owner, an investor, and a host.
- Chris shares that when he pitched this idea to Bittensor founder Jacob Steeves, Jacob's enthusiastic response was, "I want to be Simon Cowell on that show."
Technical Underpinnings: On-Chain Crowdfunding on Substrate
- The functionality is written into Substrate, the modular framework on which Bittensor is built. This means pledges are not sent to a third-party wallet but are held securely on-chain in a neutral address.
- This native integration was a surprise discovery. Jacob Steeves had already written the code for this mechanism years ago but had never publicized it or pushed it to production.
- This on-chain process eliminates counterparty risk, as funds are only released to the new subnet owner once predefined conditions are met.
Innovative Fundraising Mechanics: Beyond Simple Pledges
- Lock-Staking: To discourage "pump and dump" dynamics, teams can offer tiered rewards. For example, pledgers who agree to lock their resulting tokens for a set period (e.g., 3-6 months) receive a significantly higher multiple of tokens, creating a stable, long-term backer base.
- Fractionalized Owner Key Emissions: Investors can receive a share of the subnet's future owner key emissions—the 18% of token rewards allocated to the subnet owner. This provides a continuous revenue stream tied directly to the subnet's on-chain performance, a feature unique to Bittensor's architecture.
- Strategic Guidance: Teams receive expert advice from tokenomics specialists like Ash Woo to model their raise, liquidity needs, and runway before the campaign goes live.
Addressing "Subnet Bleed" and DTO Economics
- DTO is the model where each subnet has its own token, with its value and emissions determined by its rank (stake-weighted TAO) in the network.
- Chris observes that this pressure forces many subnet owners to spend more time cutting over-the-counter (OTC) deals with investors than innovating on their product.
- Bitstarter aims to solve this by providing sufficient upfront capital for runway, allowing teams to focus on building and reducing the immediate need to sell their token emissions.
The Vision: Becoming the "Web Browser" for Bittensor
- Just as the web browser unlocked the internet for non-technical users, Bitstarter aims to abstract away the complexity of launching on Bittensor.
- The goal is to integrate the ecosystem's decentralized components into a centralized, efficient workflow, combining the best of both worlds to accelerate growth.
- This approach aims to prevent the fragmentation seen in Web1 while avoiding the centralized monopolies of Web2.
The North Star: Fostering Innovation and Finding Bittensor's Killer App
- Mark points to Morg's work on Hippias, which deterministically links token value to network usage and revenue, as a "north star" for innovative tokenomics.
- Chris argues that the key is to "widen the problem space" by onboarding hundreds of new teams, each trying different models. By lowering the barrier to entry, Bitstarter will maximize the surface area for innovation, increasing the odds of birthing the next Ridges or an entirely new subnet category.
The Bitstarter Business Model: Aligning Incentives for Long-Term Success
- The first project will be launched for free to prove the model's effectiveness.
- Subsequently, Bitstarter will take a modest 1-3% of the subnet owner's emissions for a limited period (e.g., the first three months).
- This light-touch approach ensures that new teams retain the vast majority of their capital and emissions, giving them a higher chance of long-term success. The ultimate goal is to become the "Y Combinator of Bittensor," where the value provided far exceeds the cost.
Navigating Subnet Scarcity and the Secondary Market
- Many teams applying to Bitstarter are already in negotiations to purchase an existing subnet slot and are using the platform primarily to crowdfund their operational runway.
- Brian notes the existence of a non-public secondary market for subnets. An existing subnet is often more valuable than a new one because it comes with established liquidity pools and token holders.
- Projects like Embryon (Subnet 25) are creating new models for acquiring and re-purposing existing subnets, adding another layer to this market.
Spotlight on the First Project: Louch AI
- Louch AI is building cognitive inference models for "conscious robotics," aiming to train AI with an understanding of human morality, ethics, and intentionality.
- The founders, Chris and Lisa, have already developed a sophisticated, open-source model and are now seeking funding to launch it as a full-fledged subnet on Bittensor.
- This project exemplifies the type of ambitious, high-potential team that Bitstarter aims to attract and support.
Conclusion
Bitstarter addresses a critical bottleneck in the Bittensor ecosystem by creating a streamlined on-ramp for funding and expert guidance. For investors, it provides a curated pipeline of vetted projects and democratizes access to early-stage deals. Researchers and builders now have a clear, supportive path to transform their ideas into operational subnets.
