Kimera AGI ICO - The Documentary Series (Part 1)

Portland, Oregon (USA), is playing host to a world first (to my knowledge) with hometown Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) research and development company, Kimera Systems (more commonly referred to as Kimera AGI), using a documentary series to help promote their entry into the world of blockchain technology for their AGI product, codenamed ‘Nigel’.

The name Nigel was selected in honour of Nigel Deighton, a mentor, friend and former research partner of Mounir Shita, Founder and CEO of Kimera AGI. Before his life was tragically cut short in 2013, Nigel collaborated with Mounir on AGI research and contributed to the development of various decentralised economic and network models that form the basis of Kimera's Nigel AGI ecosystem.

Tribe Media House (also based in Portland) specialise in building communities for, and marketing of, Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and have been entrusted with the task of following the Kimera AGI team as they go about the business of raising awareness and funds for the Nigel AGI project.

Faris Mubarak, Co-Founder and CEO of Tribe Media House, has also been brought on as a Marketing Advisor for Kimera AGI, and has committed his resources to following and documenting the progress of the Kimera AGI ICO, from it’s early development through to one year after the ICO Tokensale is completed, in an effort to show the world what it takes to create a successful ICO.

Presently (8 May 2018), there are 9 episode in the documentary series, and new episodes are currently appearing weekly, but this frequency may change depending upon the rate of fresh source material. This week, I’ve put together a synopsis of the first 5 episodes (#0 - #4). In coming weeks, I’ll continue exploring further episodes in the series.

Episode 0 - Documentary Origins

Mounir and Faris discuss the goals and challenges of utilising a documentary series as a novel and unique promotion tool for an ICO.

Episode 1 - ICO Starting Point

Mounir looks at the history of AGI/AI research and discusses how his concept of AGI originated. He also discusses raising the necessary seed money to even commence the process of launching an ICO.

Mounir explains that Kimera AGI has chosen to undertake transparent Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) compliance processes, rather than trying to avoid it (like many other ICOs) and face the possibility of subsequently running afoul of the law.

We meet:

Former Intel employee Carl Johnson, who is now Head of Products for Kimera AGI. He states that Kimera’s claim to having a working AGI is a bold claim, but further states Kimera has the algorithm and data to prove it.
Seed Investor Robert Dekoning, who is also on the Board of Directors at Kimera.
Co-Founder and Kimera COO, Nicholas Gilman.
Advisor Kartik Gada, who is an Investment Banker and lectures on AI and FinTech at Stanford University.

Episode 2 - Meeting Kartik

Mounir discusses the important of the “Token Economy” and how integral it will be to the AGI project in the future.

Kartik joins the Kimera team in Portland. He explains that venture capital has a high barrier to entry and also explains that Kimera’s businesss/revenue model is more suited to an ICO.

The team looks at creating some financial projections for the venture, including short- and long-term revenue raising opportunities.

The Tokenomics of the project are briefly touched on, including the payment systems that will be in place for both users and developers, and how revenue would eventually be generated for Kimera.

Mounir attends NedSpace PDX in Portland and gives a test presentation to locals. Many locals are so impressed, they immediately invest in the project.

Episode 3 - Rochester Institute of Technology

The team fly to New York to visit the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and provide information on Nigel AGI.

Mounir gives a presentation to the RIT Entrepreneurial Club, and later, the team spend some time discussing their project with the RIT AI Club.

The Kimera team get a tour of the university and meet with many faculty members and department heads.

We meet:

Doctor Justin Pelletier, Professor, Dept of Computer Security, RIT, who reached out to the Kimera team in the hopes that he could incorporate Kimera’s technology into his classes.
Adam Peer, Head of Marketing, Kimera
Kandice King, University Development and Engagement, RIT
Doctor Naveen Sharma, Chair and Professor, Software Engineering Dept, RIT

Episode 4 - Zero Dos Zero Dos

The Kimera team travel to Manhattan, New York after their RIT visit, but things don't go to plan when they can’t unlock the door to their AirBnB accomodations. An intoxicated local offers to assist them, and gains entry in a rather unusual manner.

We meet: