PRVTC · concept preview · prvtc.aisettlement network · preview
A single beam of warm light passing through a row of dark settlement gates
Protocol · how settlement works

Payment, bound to a signed job.

PRVTC turns an open-ended "pay the AI vendor" relationship into a verifiable contract: a signed quote, a locked authorization, a metered receipt, and a settlement that refunds whatever you didn't use.

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01 · the lifecycle

Five steps from request to receipt.

Each step produces a signed artifact. Nothing settles without proof on both sides.

01

Quote

The provider signs a price for an exact job — model, region, latency, privacy tier — valid for a short window.

02

Authorize

The user signs a payment authorization bound to that quote hash. No open-ended spend, no surprise overage.

03

Lock

AIU locks in escrow or a payment channel against the authorization until the work is delivered.

04

Meter

The provider executes and signs a metering receipt for the actual consumption — tokens, seconds, pages.

05

Settle

AIU settles from the lock against the receipt; anything unused refunds automatically.

Warm light passing through a sequence of dark gates
one beam, every gate

A job authorized can't be over-charged.

Quote, lock, meter, settle — each gate signs its part, and the unused balance returns.

02 · the quote object

A price is a signed, expiring contract.

Every quote is a structured, provider-signed object. The wallet verifies the signature and the validity window before it will authorize.

fieldmeaningtype
provider_idRegistered provider issuing the quoteid
resourcetokens · gpu_seconds · pages · embeddings · agent_stepsenum
modelModel or capability class the quote coversstring
price_aiuAIU charged per unit of the resourcedecimal
region · privacyResidency / audited / on-prem tierenum
valid_untilExpiry after which the quote can't be authorizedtimestamp
signatureProvider signature over the canonical quotesig
Illustrative schema — final field set lives in the spec.
03 · guarantees

What's provable, and what we never hold.

Settlement is verifiable end to end. PRVTC moves the unit — not your data, which routes only to the provider you chose.

signed

Quotes & receipts

Every price and every metered consumption is cryptographically signed by its issuer.

escrow

Locked funds

AIU locks against a specific job and releases only on a valid signed receipt.

data

No retention

PRVTC settles the unit. Inference inputs and outputs stay with the chosen provider.

residency

Privacy tiers

Route to audited EU, on-prem, or private inference at a premium, enforced by the quote.

audit

Exportable log

Every quote, authorization, and settlement is recorded and exportable for finance.

caps

Request-bound spend

Authorizations are scoped to one job, so agent loops can't drain a balance.

04 · system

The settlement architecture, end to end.

A wallet holds AIU. A signed quote becomes a locked authorization. The provider runs the job and signs a receipt. Settlement releases payment and refunds the rest.

HOLDSSETTLESSERVESWalletAIU balance · keysorg budgetsPRVTC · SETTLEMENTquote engineescrow · payment channelmetering · signed receiptsregistry · treasuryOSS poolopen-weightGPU · H100reserved / on-demandEU · privateaudited · residencyauthorize · locksettle · refundsigned quoterun · receipt24131 signed quote 2 authorize + lock 3 run + receipt 4 settle + refund
Protocol diagram preview — final stack, numbers, and provider list depend on private beta economics.
05 · questions

Protocol questions.

Is AIU a cryptocurrency?+
AIU is a settlement and accounting unit for AI consumption. Whether the underlying network asset (PRVTC) is tokenized is an architecture decision under research — the unit you quote and hold is designed to stay stable for B2B budgeting.
How is this different from a unified inference API?+
Unified APIs route requests and consolidate billing, but the balance is locked to one vendor. AIU is a portable, signed, settle-and-refund unit that works across providers and can be held, transferred, or sold.
What stops a provider from over-charging?+
Authorization is bound to a signed quote and a metered receipt. Settlement can never exceed the locked authorization, and unused funds refund automatically.
Who signs the receipt?+
The provider's metering key signs actual consumption. The wallet verifies it against the original quote before releasing settlement.
early access

Build on the settlement layer.

Read the spec preview, or request access to the private beta.

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