At the beginning of the month, iExec hosted an X Spaces session to update the community and its plans for the future.
In part 1 of this 2-part series, we touched base on the evolving iExec vision and strategy and summarized some key milestones from the second half of 2023. If you haven’t already, you can read Part 1 here.
This article (Part 2) will recap the more exciting part of the Spaces update — where we took a first-look at what’s already been added to the roadmap for 2024!
We’ve split these roadmap elements into 4 subject areas: Adoption, Product, Tech Upgrades, and Research.
Consider this as a ‘first look’ at the roadmap for 2024, being a non-exhaustive list that will be continuously added to with new elements and further details as we move into the new year. So although we’ll likely see more updates later, there’s still a lot we can share with you already.
Let’s dive in!
Product
The product team works closely with both the Technology and Adoption teams to ensure that the products meet market needs and user expectations while leveraging the latest technological advancements.
New version of the iExec Dappstore
iExec will launch a webpage where users can discover and access a variety of applications built with iExec’s technology.
This Dappstore upgrade will focus on showcasing the best practical applications of iExec, highlighting how developers are leveraging the latest dev tools to create innovative dApps.
Developer Tools: Content industry use case
The Product team is focusing on developing a suite of developer tools tailored to empower back the content creators from all industries.
This new suite of developer tools permits builders to create dApps which:
Focus on preserving the intellectual property of creators
Enable them to have total and exclusive control over their content
Facilitates direct and personalized monetization
Allow the management of access, for example one-time access, or a subscription, or even transferring complete ownership
On top of that, these tools will also provide people different ways to engage with the content, for example by buying it, renting, or subscribing.
Privacy Pass Dashboard
Currently in beta, the Privacy Pass is an incentive program that enables Web3 users to monetize the act of receiving marketing emails.
The “Privacy Pass” enhances user privacy by enabling companies to send marketing emails to subscribers without storing or knowing their email addresses.
An upcoming Privacy Pass Dashboard is in the works, which will provide a user-friendly interface for participants to manage the subscriptions to campaigns, and view their RLC earnings.
This dashboard is part of iExec’s effort to enhance user experience and provide greater transparency and control over their participation in iExec’s ecosystem, allowing users to interact with iExec without the need of technical knowledge.
New IDE for iExec Oracles
iExec is set to launch an improved Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for iExec Oracles.
This new IDE is designed to streamline the development process, making it more intuitive and efficient for developers to create decentralized oracles using iExec’s technology. The enhanced IDE will feature advanced tools and functionalities that simplify the coding, testing, and deployment of oracles, thereby accelerating the innovation in decentralized data feeds and smart contract interactions.
Website Upgrade
iExec is planning a significant upgrade to its website. This new version will feature improved navigation and fresh content, to enhance UX and provide better access to information about the iExec ecosystem.
The new version of the website is expected to be more intuitive, informative, and aligned with the evolving needs of users, developers, and partners.
This upgrade reflects iExec’s commitment to maintaining a strong online presence that better reflects the vision and the direction of the company.
Adoption
The Adoption Team at iExec is the driving force behind the go-to-market strategy and community engagement for the company’s products. This team facilitates the adoption of the protocol, here’s just some of what they’ll be working on.
Worker Pass Round 2
iExec has announced it has plans to go ahead with the second phase of the iExec Worker Pass Utility NFT project.
As a reminder, the iExec Worker Pass is a Utility NFT allows holders access to a public iExec Worker Pool for a special operation period. This means connecting their machine to the network, becoming “iExec Workers”.
These iExec Workers were then able to provide computing power by executing computational tasks, getting paid in RLC tokens based on the number of tasks completed.
These worker events are key in stress-testing the capacity of Worker Pools made up of a large amount of distributed individual machines. It also provides individual community members a chance to become an integral part of the iExec ecosystem!
Privacy Pass Campaigns
As explained, the holders of the Privacy Pass can earn money by allowing companies to send them marketing emails without storing or knowing their email addresses.
Campaigns within the context of the Privacy Pass project (temporary name) will be a big focus for the Adoption team.
By participating in these campaigns, users can earn RLC tokens, adding a layer of incentive to the aspect of privacy and data security. This initiative not only provides value to users in terms of rewards but also reinforces the commitment of iExec to uphold data privacy while fostering a more secure and beneficial ecosystem for its users.
Web3 companies and product can use the iExec Privacy Pass to send marketing campaigns to a wide array of Web3 users, without owning their email addresses.
Developer Bounties Season 3
iExec is set to launch Season 3 of the developer Bounties on the Questbook platform, a program that encourages developers to engage with iExec’s technology.
Through this initiative, developers can claim, deliver, and earn RLC tokens by completing various development bounties. This approach incentivizes innovation and practical application development within the iExec ecosystem, creating a dynamic and active developer community.
iExec Web3 Incubator Season 3 & Season 4
The iExec Web3 Incubator is entering its third and fourth seasons, continuing to offer invaluable support to participants.
This program provides expert mentorship from iExec, assisting with product development and marketing strategies. Participants benefit from peer learning within a community of entrepreneurial peers, gaining insights and experiences that are vital for startup growth.
The incubator also provides networking opportunities, connecting participants with top Web3 experts, investors, and mentors. This initiative is pivotal in nurturing new talent and innovative projects in the Web3 space, aligning with iExec’s vision of fostering a thriving and collaborative ecosystem.
Tech Upgrades
The Technology team at iExec puts in place what is needed following briefs of the product team, as well as maintaining and constantly upgrading the tech to ensure it is robust, scalable, developer and user-friendly.
iExec V9 Upgrade
The Tech team at iExec is set to make significant strides with the implementation of iExec V9, focusing on major improvements in confidential computing.
One of the key goals is to substantially reduce the time involved in confidential computing processes. By leveraging the research on pre-computing and post-computing phases, the team aims to cut down the time required for confidential computing by a factor of three.
This enhancement will not only accelerate the computing processes but also enhance the overall efficiency and usability of the platform. This initiative represents iExec’s commitment to pushing the limits of what’s possible in confidential computing, ensuring faster, more efficient, and secure processing of sensitive data.
iExec SMS
The Tech team is also working on continuous improvements of its Secret Message Service (SMS), this future upgrade will significantly improve the reliability of the SMS, with a major feature being upgradability.
Research
iExec has been built by a team of PhDs, and has played an important role in iExec innovating and being ahead of the curve in the Web3 space. This year, the research team will have a strong focus on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) and AI.
AI and LLMs
Trusted AI is one of the core research subjects. Current AI models raise a number of challenges: knowledge base, bias, confidentiality. We think that iExec can be a solution to these challenges and more such protect a model, model monetization.
The team will leverage the long history we have with Intel, and the work done in 2023 for Intel AI Builders, which led to iExec becoming a Gold member in the Intel Partner Alliance.
Privacy-Enhancing Technologies
The research into Privacy-Enhancing Technologies (PETs) is a crucial aspect of iExec’s commitment to data security and privacy.
The team is focusing on hardware advancements, particularly Intel Trust Domain Extensions (Intel® TDX) — seen as the next step in the evolution of Inte confidential computing technology.
This involves exploring how these hardware advancements can be integrated into iExec’s framework to enhance trusted computing capabilities. Additionally, the team is looking into leveraging NVIDIA GPUs for trusted AI applications, aiming to bring the power of GPU computing to secure and private AI operations.
The team is also exploring Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) to enhance scalability and privacy in blockchain transactions, a vital component for maintaining confidentiality in decentralized computing.
PoCo Consensus Algorithm Upgrade
The upgrade of the PoCo (Proof-of-Contribution) consensus algorithm, under the PoCo Boost project, is a major initiative aimed at enhancing the efficiency and throughput of the iExec protocol.
The PoCo algorithm is integral to ensuring trust and consensus in off-chain computing on a network of untrusted machines. The current limitation of gas consumption, especially in smart contracts, hinders the platform’s throughput.
The PoCo Boost project aims to improve this throughput by 2–5 times. This enhancement will be achieved by minimizing operations and data requirements in smart contracts and blockchain for deals, all while preserving the platform’s decentralized nature.
Driven by a robust strategy and vision, iExec’s ever-growing team is aligned to continue to make advancements in the Web3 space, and is set to mark 2024 as a pivotal year for technological innovations, community engagement and market expansion. But that’s not all! iExec will be continuously adding to the roadmap, so keep an eye out. We can’t wait to show you what’s in store for the year ahead!
