Our Technology: A First-Principles Approach
This is a briefing on the first-principles engineering that powers SynthGrid. Our architecture is built for absolute control, security, and performance, answering one question for our customers: 'Why can you do what others cannot?'
Scroll to explore our architecture.
CairnDB: An Immutable, High-Assurance Document Store
CairnDB is one of the four purpose-built storage engines that make up The Vault. It is an append-only document store, meaning data is never overwritten, only added to. This provides an immutable, auditable history of all changes, which is critical for high-assurance systems.
The Problem it Solves: Traditional databases are complex, and their 'update-in-place' models can lead to data corruption and integrity issues. They are not designed for the high-security, high-auditability needs of a modern AI system.
The Payoff: Absolute data integrity and a complete, verifiable audit trail. Because we never destroy data, there is a near-zero chance of data integrity issues. This is the foundation of a trustworthy and reliable system.
Technical Deep Dive
- Append-Only Architecture: Data is never overwritten. Updates are achieved by appending a new version of the document to the end of the file. This provides a complete, immutable history of all changes, which is critical for auditability and debugging.
- Optional AES-256 Encryption: The entire database can be encrypted at rest with AES-256. Each 'Cairn Block' (a new block of data created each time the application starts) is treated as its own AES value with its own Initialization Vector, providing a high level of security.
- High-Performance, In-Memory Indexing: The entire index of the database is held in memory, allowing for microsecond-level data access. This is a key part of our 'high-performance appliance' philosophy.
Clearance System: Granular Access Control
A granular access control system that governs all access to data and capabilities within the SynthGrid appliance. It is a simple, powerful, and auditable system that is designed to be the single source of truth for all access control decisions.
The Problem it Solves: Traditional access control systems are often complex, difficult to manage, and prone to misconfiguration. They are not designed for the high-security, high-auditability needs of a modern AI system. The Clearance System is our answer.
The Payoff: A level of security and auditability that is architecturally impossible for most systems to achieve. The Clearance System is not just an access control list; it is a complete, self-contained system that is designed to be the single source of truth for all access control decisions.
Technical Deep Dive
- Simple, Powerful, and Auditable: The Clearance System is built on a simple, powerful, and auditable model. Access is granted based on a simple list of 'clearances' that a user or synth possesses. This makes it easy to reason about the security of the system as a whole, and it provides a complete, verifiable audit trail of all access control decisions.
- Granular, Per-Object Access Control: The Clearance System provides granular, per-object access control. Every piece of data and every capability in the system has its own set of required clearances. This allows for a level of security and data isolation that is rarely seen in modern applications.
- Different Rules for Different Entities: The Clearance System has different rules for different types of entities. For example, a human user only needs to share one clearance in common to see another user, while a synth must have all of the required clearances to access a piece of knowledge. This allows for a more nuanced and flexible security model.
Data Science Engine
A complete, end-to-end data science environment, built directly into the SynthGrid appliance. It allows our AI agents to safely execute complex Python code, perform sophisticated data analysis, and generate rich, interactive visualizations.
The Problem it Solves: Data science is a critical capability for a modern AI system, but it is also a major security risk. Executing untrusted code and handling large, complex datasets is a recipe for disaster. The Data Science Engine is our answer.
The Payoff: The ability to safely and reliably perform complex data analysis and visualization tasks, without the need for a separate, dedicated data science team. This is a core component of changing your unit economics, as it allows you to automate tasks that would otherwise require a team of expensive data scientists.
Technical Deep Dive
- Secure, Sandboxed Execution: All code is executed in a hardened, locked-down sandbox environment. On Linux, we use `bwrap` to create a completely isolated execution environment with no network access and a read-only filesystem. This is a powerful defense against a wide range of attacks.
- AI-Native Data Science Toolkit: The sandbox comes pre-loaded with a suite of common data science libraries, including `pandas`, `numpy`, `altair`, and `scipy`. This allows the AI to perform complex data analysis and visualization tasks without the need for external dependencies.
- Automatic Schema Extraction: The engine includes a powerful, built-in schema extraction tool. This allows the AI to automatically analyze the structure of a data file and generate a detailed, machine-readable schema. This is a critical capability for a data-centric AI system.
- AST-Based Code Transformation: Before execution, all Python code is parsed into an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST). We then use a custom-built transformer to automatically wrap all bare expressions in `print()` calls, ensuring that all results are captured. This also allows us to inspect the code for malicious patterns before it is ever executed.
Dolmen: A High-Performance UI Framework
Dolmen is a complete UI framework built from first principles in TypeScript, rejecting the entire modern JavaScript ecosystem. It uses a signal-based reactive engine that sidesteps the Virtual DOM entirely.
The Problem it Solves: Conventional UI frameworks are complex, bloated, and their performance degrades as the UI grows. Their reliance on large, third-party dependency trees also creates a massive and often unknowable attack surface.
The Payoff: Ludicrous speed and unparalleled security. Dolmen's O(1) update complexity enables real-time cockpits that would cripple a conventional framework. Because it has zero third-party dependencies, it allows us to deliver the entire application as a single, self-contained bundle, which is the key to our perfect A+ security rating and our absurdly strict Content Security Policy.
Technical Deep Dive
- Signal-Based Reactivity & O(1) Updates: UI components subscribe directly to a piece of state (a 'Signal'). When that state is updated, only the specific DOM elements that depend on it are surgically replaced. There is no VDOM, no diffing, no wasted computation. The update cost is independent of the size of the UI.
- A Pure Functional Component Model: A component in Dolmen is a pure function that takes state and returns a UI description. There are no classes, no hooks, no lifecycle methods. It is arguably the most elegant and simple component model possible.
- Zero Dependencies & A Strict CSP: Dolmen has zero third-party runtime dependencies. This allows us to deliver the entire application as a single, self-contained JavaScript file, which in turn enables us to enforce a brutally strict Content Security Policy (CSP) that is impossible to achieve with conventional frameworks.
Dynamic Self-Security Testing
SynthGrid is its own red team. It runs a suite of tests at startup to validate its own security posture. It doesn't just check if security headers exist; it asserts that they have the exact strongest possible values. It then actively attacks itself with requests from a fake 'malicious' origin to ensure its own CORS logic correctly rejects the threat.
The Problem it Solves: Security is not a feature that can be bolted on; it must be a fundamental, non-negotiable property of the architecture. Misconfigurations are a leading cause of security breaches, and they are often silent failures.
The Payoff: This is the ultimate expression of our 'Failure is not an option' philosophy. The application will refuse to start—it will literally commit suicide—rather than run in an insecure state. This provides a level of assurance that is impossible to achieve with manual configuration and testing.
Technical Deep Dive
- Strict CORS Validation: The system implements a heavily tested, security-critical CORS validation module that follows a strict, multi-layered fallback strategy. It checks the 'Origin', 'Sec-Fetch-Site', and 'Referer' headers in a precise order to ensure that only requests from explicitly allowed origins are ever accepted.
- Adversarial Self-Testing: At startup, the server actively attacks itself with requests from a fake 'malicious' origin to ensure its own CORS logic correctly rejects the threat. This is not a unit test; it is a live, in-process validation of the running server's security posture.
- Fail-Secure by Design: If any of the self-tests fail, or if the server is misconfigured in a way that weakens its security, the application will refuse to start. It is architecturally designed to prefer being offline over being insecure.
TLS-Only Operation
SynthGrid's TLS configuration is not a default setting; it is a fanatical, security-critical component. We perform a suite of paranoid checks on all TLS certificates at startup, ensuring they meet the highest security standards. We also use a modern, secure-by-default TLS configuration that is hardened against common attacks.
The Problem it Solves: TLS misconfigurations are a leading cause of security breaches. Default settings are often weak, and it is easy to make a mistake that silently compromises the security of the entire system.
The Payoff: This provides a level of assurance that is impossible to achieve with default configurations. We can guarantee that all communication with the SynthGrid appliance is secure, and we can prove it with our A+ security rating.
Technical Deep Dive
- Paranoid Certificate Validation: At startup, we perform a suite of checks on all TLS certificates, including chain trust, revocation status, key usage, public key algorithms, and key sizes. If a certificate does not meet our strict security standards, the server will refuse to start.
- Modern, Secure-by-Default TLS Configuration: We explicitly enable only the strongest TLS protocols (TLS 1.2 and 1.3) and a curated list of modern, secure cipher suites. We also disable insecure features like renegotiation.
- Dynamic, SNI-Based Certificate Selection: The server uses Server Name Indication (SNI) to select the correct TLS certificate for the requested hostname, allowing us to host multiple secure domains on a single IP address.
Institutional Knowledge System
The Knowledge Vault is the heart of SynthGrid's memory and data management. It is a complete, self-contained security kernel that combines our purpose-built storage engines with a suite of powerful security features, including cryptographic signatures, per-user encryption keys, and a robust, real-time knowledge graph.
The Problem it Solves: Modern AI systems often treat memory as an afterthought, relying on generic databases and vector stores that are difficult to audit and secure. This creates a massive attack surface and makes it impossible to reason about the security and integrity of the system as a whole. The Knowledge Vault is a rejection of this compromise.
The Payoff: A level of security, data integrity, and real-time insight that is architecturally impossible for most systems to achieve. The Vault is not just a database; it is a complete, self-contained security kernel that is designed to be the single source of truth for all knowledge and memory.
Technical Deep Dive
- Immutable, Append-Only Architecture (CairnDB): The core of the Vault is an append-only document store. Data is never overwritten, only added to. This provides an immutable, auditable history of all changes, which is critical for enterprise-grade systems.
- GDPR-Compliant by Design (SarsenDB): For data that must be physically deleted, we use a separate, purpose-built storage engine that stores each document in its own encrypted file. This allows us to cryptographically prove that a user's data has been physically and irreversibly deleted upon request.
- Cryptographic Signatures & Provenance: Every piece of knowledge in the Vault is cryptographically signed, providing a complete, verifiable audit trail of who created it and when. This is a critical feature for systems where data provenance is non-negotiable.
- Real-Time Knowledge Graph: The Vault is not a static repository; it is a living, real-time knowledge graph. We use a high-performance, 3D force-directed graph to visualize the relationships between different pieces of knowledge, allowing users to explore and understand the system's memory in a way that is impossible with traditional databases.
Menhir: A High-Assurance Web Server
Menhir is a complete web server written from the ground up in F# on raw System.Net.Sockets. It handles raw TCP connections, parses HTTP requests from byte streams, manages SSL/TLS certificates, and serves both a JSON API and static web content with a custom, high-performance file cache.
The Problem it Solves: Modern web frameworks trade control for convenience, introducing layers of abstraction that create security vulnerabilities and performance bottlenecks. Menhir is a rejection of this compromise.
The Payoff: Absolute, fanatical control over the entire network stack. This is what allows us to achieve a perfect A+ security rating from the Mozilla Observatory and performance unachievable with off-the-shelf frameworks. We can make security guarantees that are architecturally impossible for other systems.
Technical Deep Dive
- First-Principles Networking: Built on raw sockets, Menhir gives us direct control over the entire request/response lifecycle, eliminating the overhead of ASP.NET's middleware pipeline and complex abstractions.
- High-Performance File Caching: A custom, in-memory file cache with a two-tier priority system. High-value assets like HTML, CSS, and JS are prioritized over larger assets like images, ensuring a fast, responsive user experience.
- Adversarial Self-Testing: Menhir is its own red team. It runs a suite of adversarial self-tests at startup and will refuse to start if it detects a security misconfiguration. It will commit suicide rather than run in an insecure state.
Proactive Analysis Engine
A dedicated background AI agent that intercepts and analyzes every single business event—from emails and sales orders to CRM updates and calendar invites—in real-time. It uses a structured, multi-part scorecard to grade each event for security, financial impact, urgency, and social context.
The Problem it Solves: Businesses are drowning in a firehose of information. Critical signals are missed, and security threats are buried in the noise. Standard AI systems are passive tools that wait for you to ask the right question. This is too slow and too late.
The Payoff: This is the difference between a tool and an intelligence. SynthGrid doesn't just present you with a stream of data; it presents you with a stream of triaged, pre-analyzed intelligence. It is a proactive system that acts as a built-in chief of staff, ensuring you never miss a critical threat or opportunity.
Technical Deep Dive
- Real-Time Event Triage: Every business event is immediately intercepted and passed to the analysis engine. There is no batching, no delay. The analysis is performed in real-time, as the event occurs.
- Structured Analysis Scorecard: The engine forces the LLM to perform a deep, multi-faceted analysis of each event, including a full Security Assessment (checking for phishing, spoofing, etc.), a Financial Impact analysis, a Time Urgency evaluation, and a deep reading of social and organizational context.
- Contextual Prompt Engineering: To ensure the LLM performs this analysis with the correct context and intent, the system prompt is dynamically generated with specific instructions based on the source of the event, the user it belongs to, and the current state of the system.
Collaborative Reporting & Analytics Engine
A collaborative, AI-powered reporting environment built on top of our secure Data Science Engine. Users can ask for a report in natural language, and the AI will write and execute the Python code to generate it. These reports can then be saved, re-run, and shared with the entire team.
The Problem it Solves: Business intelligence is a bottleneck. Custom reports are slow to create, and the knowledge of how to generate them is often siloed with a single data analyst. Standard BI dashboards are rigid and cannot answer novel, unanticipated questions.
The Payoff: This is the end of the data bottleneck. Any user can ask a complex business question and receive a rich, data-backed report in minutes. Because these reports can be saved and re-run, it allows you to build a library of living, automated intelligence that your entire organization can use. This fundamentally changes the unit economics of business intelligence.
Technical Deep Dive
- Natural Language Report Generation: Users can request a report in plain English. The AI uses the full context of the task to write and execute a Python script that is perfectly tailored to the user's specific, ad-hoc question.
- Secure, Sandboxed Execution: All AI-generated code is executed in our secure, locked-down Python Sandbox. This allows us to safely execute untrusted code without compromising the security of the system.
- Reusable & Shareable Reports: Every report generated by the AI is a persistent artifact. It can be saved, given a title and description, and re-run at any time. This allows you to build a library of living, automated intelligence that your entire organization can use.
- Multi-Modal & Multi-Source: The engine can generate reports that include not just text and tables, but also rich, interactive data visualizations. It can also synthesize data from multiple, disparate sources—like your CRM, ERP, and even unstructured documents—into a single, unified report.
SarsenDB: A GDPR-Compliant Document Store
SarsenDB is one of the four purpose-built storage engines that make up The Vault. It is a high-performance, in-memory database that persists each document to its own encrypted file on disk. This one-file-per-document architecture is a deliberate choice to enable true, physical data deletion.
The Problem it Solves: Most databases, especially append-only or log-structured ones, do not truly delete data; they simply mark it as deleted. This is a major compliance risk for regulations like GDPR, which require the physical erasure of user data upon request.
The Payoff: Effortless GDPR compliance. When a user exercises their 'right to be forgotten,' we can cryptographically prove that their data has been physically and irreversibly deleted from the system by simply deleting the corresponding file. This is a level of compliance that is difficult and expensive to achieve with traditional databases.
Technical Deep Dive
- One-File-Per-Document Architecture: Each document is stored in its own AES-256 encrypted file on disk. This provides a simple, robust, and auditable way to manage the lifecycle of individual records.
- In-Memory First, Write-Through Cache: The entire database is held in memory for microsecond-level data access. All writes are immediately persisted to the encrypted disk cache, providing both high performance and data durability.
- Asynchronous Background Loading: The database is loaded into memory on a background thread at startup, ensuring that the application is responsive as quickly as possible. The system can begin serving requests while the full dataset is still being loaded.
SynthCRM: An AI-Native CRM
SynthCRM is a complete, built-in customer relationship management system. It is not an integration with a third-party service; it is a first-party component of the SynthGrid appliance, built on our high-performance, high-security Vault architecture.
The Problem it Solves: Third-party CRMs are powerful, but they are not designed for AI. Their APIs are often slow, their data models are rigid, and they are not built to be the real-time data source that a modern AI system requires. SynthCRM is our answer.
The Payoff: A CRM that is not just a system of record, but a living, breathing part of your AI's brain. Because it is built on our Vault architecture, the AI has microsecond-level access to all customer data, allowing it to perform complex, real-time analysis and automation that would be impossible with a third-party CRM.
Technical Deep Dive
- AI-First Data Model: The SynthCRM data model is designed from the ground up to be the perfect data source for our AI agents. It includes not just standard CRM fields, but also rich, unstructured data like comments and activity logs, and even a 'sentiment' score for each interaction.
- Real-Time Business Event Streaming: SynthCRM is not a passive database; it is a real-time event stream. Every change to a customer record is broadcast as a business event, allowing the Proactive Analysis Engine to triage and analyze new information as it happens.
- Seamless Integration with the Knowledge Vault: SynthCRM is built on the same high-performance, high-security Vault architecture as the rest of SynthGrid. This means that all customer data is encrypted at rest, and the AI has the same microsecond-level access to it as it does to all other knowledge in the system.
The Vault: A High-Assurance Security Kernel
The Vault is the heart of SynthGrid's security and data management. It is a complete, self-contained security kernel that combines our purpose-built storage engines with a suite of high-assurance security features, including passwordless authentication, per-user encryption keys, and a robust session management system.
The Problem it Solves: Modern applications often treat security as a separate layer, bolted on top of a generic database. This creates a massive attack surface and makes it difficult to reason about the security of the system as a whole. The Vault is a rejection of this compromise.
The Payoff: A level of security and data integrity that is architecturally impossible for most systems to achieve. The Vault is not just a database; it is a complete, self-contained security kernel that is designed to be the single source of truth for all sensitive data.
Technical Deep Dive
- Purpose-Built Storage Engines: The Vault is built on a foundation of four purpose-built, in-memory, file-based storage engines, each forged for a specific task, from immutable audit trails to GDPR-compliant data deletion.
- High-Assurance Authentication: The Vault provides a suite of modern, high-assurance authentication mechanisms, including passwordless authentication via FIDO2/WebAuthn, secure session management, and a robust password-based key derivation function (PBKDF2) for legacy password support.
- Per-User Encryption Keys: Every user in the system is assigned their own unique encryption key, derived from the master key using HMAC-SHA256. This provides a strong layer of data isolation, ensuring that user-specific resources (like caches) are encrypted with a key that is unique to that user. This is a powerful defense against horizontal attacks within the system.
- Defense-in-Depth Security: The Vault is designed with a fanatical, defense-in-depth approach to security. All sensitive data is encrypted at rest, all communication is over TLS, and all security-critical operations are performed in a secure, isolated environment. We have even built in a suite of adversarial self-tests to ensure the system is always secure.