The DFINITY Foundation is a leading research and development organization in the blockchain space, committed to building and promoting the Internet Computer—a public blockchain network designed to host software and services directly on-chain. DFINITY’s mission is to decentralize the traditional IT stack, thereby creating a more open, secure, and collaborative “Web3” internet. By enabling developers to build scalable applications, enterprise systems, and web services without relying on centralized cloud providers, the foundation aims to curb the monopolization of the internet by large technology corporations and return control to creators and users.

The Internet Computer is a public blockchain network that functions as a decentralized cloud platform, designed to host software, websites, and applications directly on-chain. It serves as a complete technology stack for developers, providing an alternative to the centralized corporate cloud services that power most of the current internet.

At its core, the Internet Computer utilizes advanced smart contracts called “canisters”. These are more powerful than traditional smart contracts as they package both code and data, run at web speed and can serve interactive web content directly to users’ browsers. The network also operates on a “reverse gas model,” where developers preload canisters with computational fuel (“cycles”), allowing users to interact with applications for free, similar to the experience on the traditional web.