Because all big things have a beginning.

Deep Funding has grown into a mature, multi-format funding program supporting AI innovation across SingularityNET and the broader ecosystem. As the program evolved, one pattern became clear: the quality of outcomes is strongly correlated with the quality of ideas before they become proposals.

DEEP Ideation exists to address this gap.

It is not a replacement for funding rounds, RFPs, or hackathons. Instead, it is a dedicated ideation layer designed to capture, structure, refine, and validate ideas early and before significant resources are committed.

Why Ideation Needed Its Own Strategy

In traditional funding models, ideation is often implicit. Ideas appear directly as proposals, already constrained by budgets, milestones, and implementation assumptions. This creates friction for both proposers and reviewers and increases the likelihood of misalignment with platform priorities.

DEEP Ideation introduces a different approach:

• Ideas are treated as first-class assets
• Exploration is separated from execution
• Structure and feedback are applied early
• Multiple downstream paths remain open

This allows Deep Funding to support innovation without forcing premature convergence on a single funding format.

The Ideation Support Stack

DEEP Ideation is supported by a broader support stack, where each layer has a clear role:

1. Idea Challenges – Targeted Innovation & Problem Solving
   Challenges focus ideation around specific strategic needs, platforms, or domains, while still preserving diversity of approaches.
2. The Ideation Portal – Centralized Submission & Discovery
   A single entry point where ideas can be submitted, browsed, and managed, over time. Ideas remain visible and reusable across challenges and funding instruments.
3. CRISP – Assessing & Filtering Ideas
   Rather than acting as a funding gate, it functions as a quality and alignment mechanism, ensuring that ideas are understandable, comparable, and relevant to the objectives of a given challenge.

Together, these layers allow Deep Funding to catalyze high-impact projects without forcing all innovation through the same pipeline.

You can find more information on Open Challenges and steps for submitting an idea at www.deep-ideation.ai.