Our research is driven by beliefs about how technology should serve humanity.
Substantial engineering efforts are necessary to turn ideas into real and useful tools that people can use. Our longest-term vision-driven innovation takes place in Protocol Labs R&D.
Our Four Focus Areas
Digital Human Rights
Securing freedom and safety in the digital age through improved internet infrastructure and Web3 technologies.
Economics & Governance
Upgrading coordination systems through cryptoeconomics, mechanism design, and public goods funding.
AI & Robotics
Advancing artificial intelligence and robotics with focus on beneficial outcomes and responsible development.
Neurotechnology
Pioneering brain-computer interfaces and related technologies to expand human capabilities safely.
OUR HISTORY
Protocol Labs itself began with the desire to make it easy to name, organize, and share data in a scalable way.
Those efforts became IPFS, a free and open-source software project to allow users and applications to directly share information without needing a central server. Within IPFS, expertise in programming language theory led to Multiformats, an effort to make our technologies adaptable and upgradable in a future-proof way, and IPLD, our data model for content-addressed data.
In parallel with IPFS, where users voluntarily store data they find interesting, we designed and launched Filecoin, a protocol that allows users to pay others to store data they find interesting. Originally proposed in 2014, the Filecoin concept was further detailed in our 2017 whitepaper, with CryptoLab efforts supporting both the network launch and future improvements.
As our work evolved, we expanded beyond internet infrastructure to address broader challenges in coordination, AI development, and human enhancement technologies. Our focus areas now span the full spectrum from securing digital rights to pioneering responsible advancement in AI, robotics, and neurotechnology.
COLLABORATIONS AND SUPPORT
In addition to driving internal projects directly, we also support external research.
Some of this support takes the form of our grant program, which supports academic research efforts related to the central mission and goals of Protocol Labs. Other support includes conference and event sponsorships, which usually involves representation from Protocol Labs researchers. If you're attending a conference we are sponsoring, you have a great chance of catching one of us in person. Alternatively, our conference sponsorships often take the form of sponsoring free, high-quality recordings of the talks to educate (or entertain) those unable to attend.
THE FUTURE
In our pursuit of this mission, we question how technology could work better and what we wish it would do.
This critical century demands both caution and ambition. With technologies capable of rewriting genetic codes and reshaping how billions coordinate, we're building robust foundations across our four focus areas. From securing digital human rights through Web3 infrastructure to advancing AI and neurotechnology responsibly, from pioneering public goods funding mechanisms to developing breakthrough coordination systems, our work aims to harness humanity's potential while navigating existential challenges.
We do these things in ways that make technology easy to upgrade and hard to turn against users. We work toward this ideal by building open-source software, with users and contributors as vital components in the development process, and a licensing stack that ensures these tools remain free to obtain and use. Through collaboration across our focus areas, we're accelerating the R&D pipeline to push humanity forward.
“We consistently bet, not only that the future could be a fantastic and wonderful place, but that it's worthwhile for us, as an organization, to work toward that future.”
Will ScottDigital Human Rights Lead