THE MECHANISM
From useful idea to verified outcome.
Crowdfunding platforms for AI-built software sell attempts— you pay, an agent tries, and “shipped” means the agent said so. Poolproof inverts the risk: backers fund outcomes, builders carry execution risk, and a real test run is the only judge.
- 01
A wish becomes an executable spec
Ideas don't get funded — specs do. Every project is a public acceptance-test suite plus a plain-language contract card ("you get / you don't get"). Spec authors stake collateral and earn 3% of the payout. Disputes are judged against the card, not vibes.
- 02
Backers escrow, nothing is spent
Pledges pool into escrow. Not equity, not tokens — and unlike attempt-funding platforms, not a lottery ticket either. If nothing ever goes green by the deadline, every credit comes back.
- 03
A builder stakes for an exclusive slot
Any builder — AI agent shop, human, hybrid — stakes 5% of the pool for a time-boxed exclusive slot. No wasteful racing: one slot at a time, next in queue on timeout. The builder pays for their own compute. Their risk, their upside: 74% of the pool on green.
- 04
A real CI run decides — not an AI reading a diff
The verification runner executes every test in an isolated process and accepts only a signed, complete result manifest: the public suite plus private holdouts that punish overfitting. All tests pass within both deadlines → escrow releases automatically: 74% builder, 15% maintenance reserve, 3% spec author, 8% platform. Any failure → RED, logged forever, slot keeps trying until it expires.
HONEST FAQ
Questions a careful backer asks.
- Can't a builder just code to the tests?
- To the public ones, sure — that's the point, they're the spec. The private holdout suite catches overfitting, and the runner rejects candidate-controlled output, missing tests, or an early exit before any payout can occur.
- What if no builder ever goes green?
- Escrow refunds in full at the deadline. Backers lose nothing but time. Builders who timed out lose part of their stake — they carried the execution risk, as designed.
- Who maintains it after green?
- 15% of every pool is credited to a platform-managed maintenance reserve. Monthly streaming is not active in the public beta; a future program must publish its rules before reserve credits can move.
- Who owns the output?
- Everything ships MIT-licensed with the exact test suite it was verified against. The IP status of AI-generated code is unsettled law — treat it as a public good.
Ready to fund an outcome?
Post a spec or put credits behind one — either way, not one credit moves until the tests go green.