Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithm marketplace provider Algorithmia Inc. today announced plans to leverage the Ethereum blockchain to facilitate its trade.

Algorithmia’s marketplace allows researchers and developers to share the AI and ML algorithms they create and get paid when others use them, without worrying about the logistics of delivery. The company also provides analytics services to monitor usage of these models, in addition to an AI layer released in November that automates their deployment.

The company’s unique value proposition has attracted the attention of high profile investors including Google LLC, which was named as the lead contributor to its most recent $10.5 million funding round last June.

Building on its successful beginnings, the company says its created the first ever AI and machine learning smart contract with a neural network running on the Ethereum blockchain. The contract basically offers a bounty for developers to create an AI/machine learning model that can determine voter preferences based on their latitude and longitude. It will pay out three ether tokens (worth $2,527 at the time of press) to the first developer that comes up with a working model.

The contract is essentially an example of a bigger initiative Algorithmia is launching, one that will enable machine learning models to be requested, bought, sold and executed on the Ethereum blockchain. The company is trying to create a more dynamic marketplace in which customers can request a model that performs certain functions they specify.

Developers would then compete to build a working model and receive payment for that work. All of this is enabled by what Algorithmia calls the “DanKu” method, which is a kind of protocol for executing contracts that holds the Ether “bounty” in escrow, provides sample data for training purposes, and only pays out after the model has been submitted and evaluated by the blockchain.

“As machine learning adds a layer of intelligence to every application, billions of models will need to be trained, tested and updated,” explained Diego Oppenheimer, founder and chief executive officer of Algorithmia. “An open and trustless protocol like DanKu will allow companies to easily and securely acquire new models to fit their business needs, and creates an opportunity for machine learning engineers to efficiently build and deploy models.”

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