# What is Tashi?

Tashi is the coordination layer for intelligent systems. It provides real-time, leaderless consensus at the edge, enabling autonomous systems (robots, AI agents, IoT devices) to coordinate across trust boundaries without centralized control.

The world's digital infrastructure has matured across compute, storage, and connectivity. What remains unsolved is **coordination**: the ability for independent systems to reach agreement in milliseconds without trusting a central authority. Tashi fills this gap.

### Our Mission

**"Align devices with the interests of their owners, being the coordination layer of intelligent systems."**

Today's centralized infrastructure means your devices serve platform interests, not yours. Tashi changes that equation by enabling coordination without centralized control, where machines operate with verifiable alignment to those they represent.

### The Three-Layer Architecture

Tashi separates concerns across three layers:

| Layer       | Purpose                     | Key Feature                                           |
| ----------- | --------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| **Vertex**  | Peer-to-peer consensus      | Sub-100ms Byzantine fault-tolerant agreement          |
| **Lattice** | Global DePIN infrastructure | Discovery, validation, economic incentives            |
| **Arc**     | Blockchain settlement       | Bridges to Ethereum, Solana, Hedera, and 20+ networks |

Each layer operates independently. Applications can use Vertex alone for private coordination, add Lattice for global discovery and reliability, or invoke Arc when blockchain settlement is required.

### Why This Matters Now

An explosion of autonomous systems has made coordination the most critical infrastructure gap:

* **Robotics**: Warehouse robots, delivery drones, and autonomous vehicles need sub-100ms coordination across operators
* **AI Agents**: Trillions of software actors will require millisecond discovery and Byzantine-robust consensus
* **Industrial IoT**: Cross-boundary sensor coordination for smart cities, manufacturing, and energy grids

Centralized coordination works within single organizations but breaks across trust boundaries. Blockchains provide settlement but operate too slowly for real-time coordination. Tashi fills the gap between compute/storage infrastructure and blockchain settlement.

### Key Capabilities

| Capability              | Specification                                  |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| **Consensus Latency**   | 26-103ms depending on configuration            |
| **Throughput**          | Up to 1.026 million TPS (throughput-optimized) |
| **Byzantine Tolerance** | Up to f = ⌊(n-1)/3⌋ malicious participants     |
| **Coordination Cost**   | Gasless: no per-transaction fees               |
| **Network Reliability** | 99%+ uptime through geographic distribution    |

### How It Works

**Vertex** uses a DAG-based gossip-about-gossip protocol with virtual voting. Peers exchange signed events that reference previous events, building a causally-ordered graph. Consensus is calculated mathematically from the DAG structure. No actual votes are transmitted, eliminating a round of network communication.

**Lattice** provides the global infrastructure layer:

* **Discovery**: Find peers without pre-known identities
* **NAT Traversal**: Connect devices behind firewalls
* **Validation**: Verify Proofs of Coordination
* **Reputation**: Route work to reliable operators
* **Economics**: Distribute rewards based on verified contribution

**Arc** bridges coordination outcomes to public blockchains when settlement, token issuance, or public finality is needed. Most coordination stays private; Arc activates only when required.

### Ecosystem Position

Tashi is a founding member of the **Intercognitive Foundation**, an initiative establishing global standards for AI accessibility and interoperability. The Foundation coordinates infrastructure across identity, positioning, sensors, compute, connectivity, and orchestration. Tashi provides the orchestration layer.

### Applications

| Vertical           | Use Case                                         | Tashi Advantage                                     |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------- |
| **Robotics**       | Cross-operator coordination in shared warehouses | Sub-100ms consensus, no single operator controls    |
| **AI Agents**      | Distributed inference, federated learning        | Byzantine-robust aggregation, millisecond discovery |
| **Industrial IoT** | Cross-boundary sensor coordination               | Privacy-preserving, decentralized agreement         |
| **Gaming**         | Serverless multiplayer, anti-cheat               | Technical validation proving real-world performance |

### Get Started

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th></th><th></th><th data-hidden data-card-target data-type="content-ref"></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Overview</strong></td><td>Understand the coordination problem and Tashi's solution</td><td><a href="overview/overview">overview</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Whitepaper</strong></td><td>Deep dive into architecture, tokenomics, and technical details</td><td><a href="whitepaper/whitepaper">whitepaper</a></td></tr><tr><td><strong>Run a Node</strong></td><td>Join Lattice and earn from coordination infrastructure</td><td><a href="node-operators/nodes">nodes</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

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*Tashi provides the coordination layer for intelligent systems, enabling machines to operate in alignment with those they represent.*