Pre with date (2024-2026)
First it was a 3D software environment with AI assistant. The idea was right but asbtract. 3D space was a desktop app. It didn't work out because the UI metaphor was not properly built, and the blockchain side was not ready.
Demo showcase available on YouTube.
Then it moved to the web to ship faster. It experiment with 2D new metaphor for malleable interface: instead typography based component, its like a universe with galaxies (projects) and stars (users).
The site itself came with meta tools that let you step outside the page.
UI is malleable with AI: in screenshot below you can see how to customize zoom controller with AI.
It didn't work out because I was trying to push it as a social network. Then I tried to work on each of the Ara component and as only focus on malleable interface was misdirecting trajectory.
After countless feedbacks I finally get the proper idea and structure and here we are.
Now
The first version brings together two communities: users who want to feel like kings of their computers, and the open source developers who build the tools they depend on.
Users pay open source projects monthly. In return they choose from three options:
Turning into Ara has two forms.
What users get: a bundle of open source software where features and APIs are guaranteed not to disappear, all data stays local, and nothing is locked to a vendor.
To surface what matters, Ara will build an analyzer that reads what APIs exist and how users actually use them - then suggests improvements that save time.
Onboards: open source developers and their users
2026-onward
Built on what Cascade Fund proved, the second phase is a project management environment that runs in the browser.
Local first: all your data stays on your machine. AI ready: the model runs locally, trained on what you already own. Composable: apps are Lego bricks built on other apps, reshuffled without worrying about licenses.
This is the malleable surface. Software you own, not software you rent.
Onboards: designers, power users, productivity-focused teams
The third phase puts the foundation on-chain. Two wings: one that stores the semantics of open source software, one that runs recommendation on top of those semantics.
The blockchain here is not a financial instrument - it is collective wisdom. A trustless recommendation engine that surfaces what users actually need, not what someone paid to promote.
And if it succeeds: it whitewashes blockchain from its infamous reputation.
Onboards: node operators, the broader ecosystem
Join us
Lastly, to keep updated follow on our social media. Or if you want to collaborate mail me at medet@ara.foundation.