IExec Blockchain-Based Decentralize Cloud Computing

1. BLUEPRINT FOR DECENTRALIZED CLOUD COMPUTING
iExec aims at providing decentralized applications running on the blockchain a scalable, secure 
and easy access to the services, data-sets and computing resources they need. This technology 
relies on Ethereum smart contracts and allows the building of a virtual cloud infrastructure that 
provides high-performance computing services on demand.
iExec leverages a set of research technologies that have been developed at the INRIA and CNRS 
research institutes in the field of Desktop Grid computing. The idea of Desktop Grid (aka. Volunteer 
Computing) is to collect the computer resources that are underutilized on the Internet to execute 
very large parallel applications at the fraction of the cost of a traditional supercomputer.
iExec relies on XtremWeb-HEP, a mature, solid, and open-source Desktop Grid software which im-

plements all the needed features: fault-tolerance, multi-applications, multi-users, hybrid public/pri-

vate infrastructure, deployment of virtual images, data management, security and accountability, 
and many more.
iExec is developing a new Proof-of-Contribution (PoCo) protocol, that will allow off-chain consen-

sus. Thanks to the Proof-of-Contribution, external resource providers will have the usage of their 
resources certified directly in the blockchain.
iExec aims to deploy a scalable, high-performance, secure and manageable infrastructure sidechain
that will promote a new form of distributed governance, involving key HPC, big data and cloud indus-

try leaders.
We believe in a future of decentralized infrastructure and market network, where big data and HPC 
applications, highly valued data-sets, and computing resources (storage, CPU, GPU) will be mone-

tized on the blockchain with the highest level of transparency, resiliency and security - and iExec as 
the key platform powering this future.
iExec is building the Internet’s next step. Be part of it!

2. BACKGROUND
iExec is built upon the work our team members have done at the INRIA and CNRS research ins-

titutes in the field of Desktop Grid computing since 2000. Our breakthrough innovations in the 
area of large scale data processing, data management, parallel computing, security and dependabi-

lity, QoS technologies and interoperability have resulted in over 80 scientific papers in top scientific 
conferences and journals.
The iExec team was instrumental in establishing the European Desktop Grid Infrastructure, transpa-

rently executing millions of jobs on more than 200,000 nodes and working with organisations like 
Large Hadron Collider. We had been in constant relationship with key industrial companies like Total, 
Airbus, Orange, IFP Energy, as well as with innovative startups.
From 2012 to 2014, Gilles Fedak, Haiwu He, Oleg Lodygensky and Mircea Moca were seeking solu-

tions for implementing a distributed cloud based on Desktop Grid technology. A serious drawback 
was the lack of a mechanism to register and prove the contribution of participants of different na-

tures: applications, datasets, computing resources and even human expertise.
In 2015, Gilles Fedak discovered the Ethereum technology and first started to use smart contracts 
to implement distributed resource management. Today, we are confident that the conjunction of 
Desktop Grid computing and blockchain has the potential to disrupt the whole cloud, big data, and 
HPC economy.
Since the beginning of 2016, the core team has rapidly expanded to include blockchain hackers, bu-

siness developers and marketing specialists. From a research project, iExec is now a company, whose 
headquarters are in Lyon, France, with a subsidiary in Hong Kong.

IExec Blockchain-Based Decentralize Cloud Computing