LABS Architecture: The For-Profit R&D Engine

Strategic Clarification

The LABS (Yellow) Arm is 100% For-Profit and remains part of aethex.dev. This clarifies the earlier confusion about whether Labs should be non-profit or for-profit.

The Complete Ecosystem Picture

aethex.foundation (The "Guardian")

• Type: Non-Profit

• Primary Role: Identity issuance and open-source research

• Key Function: Guardian of the open-source Axiom Protocol

• Serves As: The public-good "university" (nexus.aethex.dev's /hub/protocol pages)

• Focus: Community education, mentorship, and open-source development

aethex.dev (The "Engine")

• Type: For-Profit

• Primary Role: Commercial application platform

• Research & Development: The LABS (Yellow) Arm

• Job: Takes the open-source Axiom Protocol and builds proprietary, closed-source "secret weapons" on top

• First Project: AI-driven Procedural Content Generation (PCG) engine

Research vs. Development

Aspect	Foundation	LABS
Entity Type	Non-Profit	For-Profit
Focus	Open-Source Research	Proprietary Development
Role	Guardian of Axiom Protocol	Internal R&D Department
Output	Community Knowledge	Competitive Advantage
Access	Public	A-Corp Employees / Verified Users

LABS Dashboard Architecture

URL: /dashboard/labs

Theme: Technical, minimalist, "Blueprint" (Yellow/Amber accents, Monospace fonts)

JTBD: "As an A-Corp engineer or Founder, I need to track our R&D projects, manage our IP pipeline, and see the whitepapers we're publishing."

Access Control: Soft-gated (public users see "Join Labs?" CTA; A-Corp employees see full dashboard)

Widget 1: Active Research Tracks (Project Tracking)

Purpose: High-level Kanban or list of all internal, proprietary R&D projects.

Sample Data:

• "Axiom PCG Engine (for dev-link.me)" [Status: In Development]

• ".aethex TLD Smart Contracts" [Status: In Research]

• "QuantumLeap Predictive Model v2" [Status: Scoping]

Functionality:

• Display project status (Scoping → Research → In Development → Testing → Released)

• Show progress indicators

• Link to project details and whitepapers

• Display project lead and team

Widget 2: IP & Patent Dashboard (IP Management)

Purpose: The "output" of LABS. This is the "transfer pricing" model from the business model document (Part 8).

Display Table:

IP Name	Status	Licensed To
Axiom PCG Engine	[Filed]	The AeThex Corp
aethex.me IP	[Secured]	The AeThex Corp

Functionality:

• Track all proprietary IP (Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets)

• Show filing status and dates

• Indicate which subsidiaries/entities are licensed

• Admin-only access with sensitive information

Widget 3: Publication Pipeline (Thought Leadership)

Purpose: Dashboard for the Marketing Team (SOP-402) to track R&D content and thought leadership.

Sample Data:

• "The Tech Behind PCG" [Status: Drafting]

• "Why We Chose a .aethex TLD" [Status: Published on aethex.blog]

Functionality:

• List upcoming technical whitepapers and blog posts

• Show publication status (Drafting → Review → Published)

• Link to published content on aethex.blog

• Display author and expected publication date

• Soft-gated: public can see published content; A-Corp can see drafts

Widget 4: My Labs Bounties (The "Bridge" to NEXUS)

Purpose: A filtered view of the NEXUS bounty board showing only high-difficulty, high-reward "Research Bounties" that LABS has posted for elite "Architect" community members to help with.

Functionality:

• Filter NEXUS bounties by "research" category

• Show only high-reward opportunities

• Display difficulty level and required expertise

• Link to full NEXUS bounty page

• Show number of active applicants and top candidates

CTAs (Calls to Action)

• [ Submit a New Research Proposal ] - Form to propose new R&D projects

• [ Browse LABS Bounties ] - Links to filtered NEXUS bounty board for research opportunities

Access Control & Soft-Gating

Public Users (Not A-Corp Employees)

• See header: "Research LABS"

• See "Join Labs?" CTA

• Can view published whitepapers (Publication Pipeline - published only)

• Cannot access research tracks, IP dashboard, or draft content

• Navigation: CTA button links to /labs/join-request or similar

A-Corp Employees / Verified Users

• Full access to all widgets

• Can see all research tracks and progress

• Can view IP dashboard (with appropriate role restrictions)

• Can see publication pipeline (drafts + published)

• Can browse and apply to LABS bounties

• Can submit research proposals

Technical Implementation Notes

1. Database Tables Needed:

   • labs_research_tracks (projects, status, progress, lead_id)

   • labs_ip_portfolio (ip_name, type, status, filing_date, licensed_to)

   • labs_publications (title, description, status, published_date, content_url)

   • labs_bounties (links to nexus opportunities, filtered by category)

2. API Endpoints:

   • GET /api/labs/research-tracks - Fetch all research tracks

   • GET /api/labs/ip-portfolio - Fetch IP portfolio (admin + A-Corp)

   • GET /api/labs/publications - Fetch publications (public + A-Corp)

   • GET /api/labs/bounties - Fetch research bounties from NEXUS

   • POST /api/labs/submit-proposal - Submit research proposal

   • POST /api/labs/join-request - Request to join LABS (soft-gating)

3. Soft-Gating Logic:

   • Check user's arm_affiliations table for "labs" affiliation

   • Check if user has A-Corp role or is verified member

   • Return different UI based on access level

4. Theme & Styling:

   • Primary color: Amber/Yellow (#f59e0b, #fbbf24)

   • Font: Monospace (e.g., "Monaco", "Courier New", "IBM Plex Mono")

   • Background: Dark with technical grid patterns

   • Accent: Amber/yellow highlights for technical elements

Priority & Timeline

This dashboard is greenlit to build after NEXUS and CORP per the priority list.

References

• Original Business Model: Part 8 (Transfer Pricing Model)

• Axiom Protocol Documentation: /hub/protocol pages

• NEXUS Architecture: NEXUS-ARCHITECTURE.md