A complete framework for how Firma Network operates as an ecosystem — not a VC, not a fund, not a company in the traditional sense. A system where the act of contributing creates perpetual value for everyone, and control belongs to no one except the contributors themselves.
The Syndicate — the collective, the IP trust, the PIF — none of this is the product. It is the relationship infrastructure. The main thing is the network. This is just the mechanism by which partnerships are valued, exposure is created, and participation becomes economically meaningful from day one.
The Syndicate is not how Firma makes money. It is how Firma creates a gravitational field — a place where builders, agents, institutions, and open-source contributors can orbit the network at whatever distance they choose, earning from the collective while contributing to it, without ever being pulled into a cap table, a board seat, or a debt obligation.
The goal is an IP trust that holds technology for the public benefit. A Public Investment Fund that deploys capital without demanding returns. An agentic layer that values contribution by metrics, not by money. And a market where anyone can participate — from anonymous open-source developer to sovereign wealth fund — on equal footing, differentiated only by what they give.
Not a venture capital fund. VC deploys capital in exchange for ownership and demands returns. The PIF deploys capital to create value for the collective, and returns flow to all participants — not back to the fund.
Not a portfolio manager. Carrying portfolio companies is not the goal. The IP trust carries the technology. Companies are free to build with it without being carried as assets on anyone's balance sheet.
Not a control mechanism. The purpose of the PIF is to protect and ensure the public reaps the rewards — not to control what is built on the network.
A generosity fund. Capital deployed to create speed, new models, and shared infrastructure without debt or control. Firma has no investors to pay back — only capital to deploy in service of the network's growth.
An IP steward. The PIF purchases valuable IP — open-source tech, patents, tools — to hold in the collective trust. Open source stays open. Strategic licensing creates collective revenue. No one person owns what belongs to the network.
A liquidity creator. The PIF enables participants to gain liquidity without going the investor route — through SPVs, open market LP positions, and revenue share agreements.
Each entity serves a specific purpose and is domiciled in the jurisdiction best suited to that purpose. Six legal entities plus the on-chain Attestation Registry Bridge — which provides agent domicile, tax election, and cross-entity verification. Together they form a complete legal infrastructure that is simultaneously governed, protected, tax-efficient, and publicly accessible.
The trust layer is what makes everything permanent, public-benefiting, and un-extractable. These are not corporate structures that can be sold, merged, or dissolved for private gain. They are perpetual stewards of the collective's core assets.
The IP Trust uses an agentic system as its primary trustee — a first-of-its-kind structure enabled by Wyoming's progressive trust and DAO laws. The agent evaluates every licensing request against the trust's governing principles: Does this use benefit the collective? Does it maintain open-source access? Does it create value that flows back to contributors?
A human "protector" (typically a founding member or elected representative) can override the agent only to prevent clear harm — not to redirect value. This creates a trust that is genuinely governed by the collective's interests, not by any individual's judgment. It is the closest existing legal structure to a "public interest AI fiduciary."
The system is designed to accommodate every type of participant — from anonymous open-source developer to Coinbase Ventures to a sovereign wealth fund — without requiring the same disclosure, commitment, or structure from each. Everyone gets what they need. The network gets what it needs. No one gets control they didn't earn.
| Participant Type | How They Enter | What They Earn | KYC Req'd | Equity | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Open Source Developer Anonymous or pseudonymous |
Submits IP to trust · earns on use | FIRMA (usage royalty) + Reputation | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Agent Builder Human behind agent wallet |
Registers agent in library · agent earns fees | % of fees agent generates · FIRMA · Rep | Optional | ✗ | ✗ |
EIR Company Entrepreneur in Residence |
Grant application · Firma Labs support | Grant + team support + agents + acquisition path | ✓ | ✗ given | Own IP |
Partner Company Light participation |
Shares tools · uses network · earns from use | Rev share on network use of their IP | Optional | ✗ | ✗ |
Liquidity Provider Anonymous or SPV |
Buys LP position in product stack pools | LP fees from all collective trading activity | SPV only | ✗ | ✗ |
VC / Institutional e.g. Coinbase Ventures, a16z |
LP position in PIF · co-invest via SPV | LP fees · deal participation · no cap table | ✓ (25%+) | ✗ | ✗ |
Network State School e.g. Vitalik, Balaji investments |
Invest in collective · use IP · share outcome | Collective earnings · IP access · reputation | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Basemint / Base Apps Built on Base, using collective IP |
Contributes IP to trust · earns from use | Network use rev share · USDC consumers | Optional | ✗ | Own product |
Founding Member Firma Labs, CIK Labs, etc. |
Founding entity · brings assets to collective | Supermajority governance · ROFR · full earn | ✓ | Collective | Reputation |
"Walk and date before any big commitment — but shared value starts from the beginning: exposure, reputation, large network, talent pool marketplace, open source tech, agents, liquidity pools, and potential for liquidity if you open up for share from the PIF, collective members, and open market."
The phases are designed so each one proves the mechanics for the next. You can't run the agentic deal engine before you have reputation data. You can't have reputation data before you have contributors. Start with the structure that makes contributing safe and rewarding. Everything else follows.
The Firma Public Investment Fund is not structured like any existing investment syndicate because its purpose is categorically different. It does not exist to generate returns for investors. It exists to make sure value flows to the people who created it, protect the IP that serves the public, and provide liquidity to participants who choose to exit without going through the traditional investor route.
Firma has no investors to pay back. The PIF deploys capital in service of the network's growth — grants, IP acquisitions, infrastructure — and the returns flow to collective participants, not to a fund manager or LP.
When the PIF acquires IP, it enters the trust. The trust holds it for the network's benefit. Open-source stays open. Commercial licensing generates collective revenue. No individual benefits disproportionately from the acquisition.
Founders and contributors who want liquidity can sell portions of their company or IP to the PIF — without taking VC money, without giving up control, without going public. The PIF provides the exit. The collective owns the asset. The founder earns a perpetual tail.
The PIF's offer price is determined by the agentic valuation engine — usage metrics, economic rights positions, network value. Not by a partner's judgment or a term sheet negotiation. This removes the power asymmetry that makes fundraising extractive.
A % of every PIF deal is open to the market — collective members, SPVs, other VCs, sovereign funds. Co-investors get economic rights and LP participation. No one has to carry the portfolio alone. The PIF does because that's its purpose.
You put your IP in the trust. You keep contributing to it. The network uses it. You earn from every use — agentically, automatically, perpetually. The PIF can buy the rights if your work becomes strategically critical. But open-source status is irrevocable. The tech stays with the people. You earn from giving it away. This is not possible under any traditional IP or open-source model.
Walk in, date the network, earn from the exposure and shared tech before any commitment. If you want to go deeper — EIR, grant, partial acquisition — the door is open. The agentic layer tracks your contribution and value in real-time. If you build something the network needs, an offer will come. You don't have to pitch it. The system finds you.
No cap table. No board seat. No portfolio company to manage. Buy an LP position in the PIF. Co-invest in specific deals through SPVs. Earn from the collective's growth. Coinbase Ventures gets product visibility for their portfolio companies — the collective's network sees their builders' work. That's the value add. Not control.
Six entities working together. The Cayman Foundation governs the rails and administers the IP Trust. The Wyoming Statutory Trust holds open source commons permanently. The Wyoming Non-Profit runs grants, $CIK vault, and contributor programs. The Nevis entity holds private IP, strategic assets, and the PIF acquisition pipeline. Firma Labs (PR/Dubai) runs operations and token issuance. The 508c1a Ministry holds the charitable and tithe layer. Each entity does one thing well. Together they cover everything.
It has no investors to pay back. VC is defined by the obligation to return capital to LPs who demand returns. The PIF deploys Firma's own capital (and co-investment from participants who understand the model) to build the network — not to generate fund returns. Profits flow to the collective, not to a fund manager.
Yes, via the IP Trust's governing principles. Wyoming Statutory Trusts can have irrevocable terms — once IP enters as open-source, the trust's governing principles prevent any trustee (human or agentic) from changing that status. Even if the PIF acquires rights, the trust terms are binding. The open-source commitment is legally permanent.
Via agent wallets and LP participation. Anonymous contributors earn through their agent's LP position — trading fees and yield, not direct payments. If they choose to elect direct payments, they configure their agent's tax election (jurisdiction, withholding, reporting). The Know Your Agent framework handles accountability without requiring identity disclosure to the network.
1 ACC0RD is not a membership organization. A DUNA requires 100+ members and token-based governance — appropriate for DAOs, not for a protocol layer. The Wyoming Non-Profit handles grants, $CIK vault, and contributor programs without the membership overhead. The Syndicate relationship layer operates through 1 ACC0RD itself, not through entity membership.
Legal and technical in parallel, but legal first. You cannot register IP in a trust that doesn't exist. The entity formation (60 days) runs simultaneously with the smart contract development. The on-chain reputation registry and IP registry can be deployed on testnet during entity formation. By the time the legal shell exists, the technical layer is ready to activate.
A way for people to work together as light participants in shared IP — with revenue share from network use, or something larger without the typical ownership model. The purpose of the PIF isn't to control. It's to protect and make sure the public reaps the rewards.