Modal has launched Modal for Builders, a programme that gives compute credits to people working on ambitious AI projects. The official account says compute shouldn’t be the bottleneck, and that applicants should come with an idea and an estimate of the compute they’ll need. Projects may also be featured on Modal’s social channels.
In the same thread, Modal points to projects it has already backed: a Super Smash Bros. Melee-playing agent by @ericyuegu, an isometric pixel-art map of the Bay Area by @jus10chavez, and a YouTube series by @GreenCodeCodes on training GPT-2 from scratch.
What the credits cover
The programme page says credits are sized to the project, including in-demand GPUs, and that work can run without reserving clusters or managing servers. Approved projects get credits for compute, GPUs included. Larger grants may be issued in stages as the work progresses. Modal says most projects fall within $1,000–$5,000 in credits. If a project needs more, it will be reviewed case by case, and the company may grant less than requested. Smaller requests can be approved quickly; larger ones get a closer look at the project scope and the compute estimate.
Applicants are asked to describe what they want to build and what will run on Modal, whether that’s inference, training, Sandboxes or batch jobs, plus how much compute they need and when they expect to have something to show. When the work is ready, Modal encourages people to share a demo, a write-up or a video, and to mention that it runs on Modal. Standout projects may be shared on the company’s channels.
Who can apply
Modal says anyone with a specific AI project they want to build on the platform can apply, and that a large following or a long list of past projects isn’t required. It reviews every application and backs a small number of projects. A strong application, it says, has a specific idea and a clear picture of what runs on Modal. Its own example is: “Fine-tune an open-weight model on 10,000 hours of game footage and serve it as a playable demo.” Past work helps, but “a strong idea can stand on its own.”
The company says this is separate from Modal for Startups, which is aimed at venture-backed companies. People with other questions can email [email protected]. Applications go through the official builders page.
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