Frequently Asked Questions

The Memocube

What is a Memocube — and what is the Tesseract?

A Memocube is an 11 cm³ cube-shaped cold data storage unit capable of holding up to 100 TB of information. It is made from a combination of highly advanced materials. The infocore — where the data is physically inscribed — is made from fused silica, a very pure synthetic quartz glass. Using special lasers, data is written into these infocores at the nanoscale. Thanks to the material properties of fused silica, the infocore can withstand radiation, magnetic storms, extreme heat, and extreme cold while the data remains intact and readable. For additional protection, the infocore is shelled in cutting-edge materials such as two-dimensional polymers, described as being twenty times harder than steel while as light as plastic. A Memocube stored in a protected environment can survive intact and readable not only for hundreds or thousands of years, but for hundreds of thousands of years and beyond.

One million of these Memocubes, stacked in a 100×100×100 grid, form the monumental Tesseract — an 11 m³ structure with nearly 100 petabytes of capacity. The vast majority of this space is reserved for a curated civilizational data corpus: human-generated cultural and civilizational knowledge that serves as a clean backup and restore point of our wisdom before it dilutes in an ocean of synthetic and AI-generated content. An immutable source of human truth.

Alongside the civilizational corpus, every Memocube has a patron section to hold the personal legacy of an individual, a family, or an organization. A patron acquires the right to that space and uploads whatever they choose. In doing so, the patron becomes part of the Tesseract endeavor while gaining the ability to echo into infinity.

There are various extensions and upgrades — from space probes that carry the essence of patron sections into interstellar space, to physical replicas of your Memocube. But in essence, that is what the Memocube and the Tesseract are.

What can I store in my Memocube?

Every sort of digitally representable information: photographs, texts, videos, DNA readouts, drawings, software code, audio recordings, and more. As an optional extension, patrons can also request a physical inclusion measuring up to 2 cm³ — a space for DNA samples, a wedding ring, or other small beacons and items you want to send into infinity.

As for content, there are not many but still some restrictions, laid out in the Terms & Conditions. In rare and complex cases, an independent ethics board may reject an inclusion. But in principle, the project aims to show and represent what it meant to be human at the dawn of ASI — not just the beautiful sides, but also our darker aspects. That is part of who we are as humans. The conversation about what to include is itself an important part of the project.

The same applies to the larger civilizational corpus. One hundred petabytes is a great deal, but not enough to take everything. This restriction forces us to think and derive an essence — a deliberate, curated reflection of human creation.

How much storage does each Memocube have?

Each Memocube has a total capacity of roughly 100 TB. The patron section, however, starts at 1.11 GB in the standard configuration, with the possibility to extend for a fee in select cases. The vast majority of space is reserved for the civilizational corpus.

This limitation is intentional. Beyond preserving space for the shared corpus, the restriction encourages patrons to think deeply about what they want to take with them. You cannot simply dump your entire camera roll. You need to choose. Perhaps discuss with your family: What defines us? What is important to us? What do I want the future to see from me? This takes reflection — and that reflection is encouraged by the limitation.

How long will my data really last?

In theory, the Tesseract and its Memocubes may survive for millions of years. In practice, there may be events we simply cannot foresee: a planet-killer asteroid striking the storage location, a thermonuclear detonation, or future tomb raiders who may not understand what the Tesseract is — much as the Pyramids and the Roman Forum became quarries for “building materials.”

But that applies only to the original Tesseract on Earth. Patrons may order replicas of their sealed Memocubes, which could survive somewhere else, for even longer. And then there are the six deep interstellar space probes. They will carry the essence of the patron sections into deep space — spacecraft that may end up in orbit around a distant planet, collide with an asteroid, or, as we hope, travel for millions and billions of years.

So we cannot give an exact number. But with our redundancy strategy — the protected terrestrial site, physical replicas, and interstellar probes — we expect at least several million years for personal data to survive in some form. The civilizational corpus, however, is more dependent on the Tesseract’s survival here on Earth. At least for now.

Can I update or change content after sealing?

No. Once your Memocube is sealed, the data is permanently inscribed. This is by design — the integrity and authenticity of the archive depends on immutability. You can update and revise your content freely before sealing, but once the sealing process is complete, the inscribed data cannot be altered.

What happens to my Memocube if I die?

Your Memocube becomes part of your regular inheritance, unless you configure other settings in your account. You can password-protect or time-lock your data — for example, making it visible to everyone only after 1,000 years. Physical replicas are yours as personal property, inheritable by your children or descendants.

If you die before uploading and sealing your Memocube, the rights are inherited according to your last will. If no one claims an unsealed Memocube, it may be reassigned prior to the Tesseract’s completion. At a defined threshold, all Memocube owners will be notified to upload and seal. After a final grace period, any unclaimed Memocubes will be reassigned to a charitable organization — either one you selected or, if none was specified, one chosen by community vote.

The Tesseract

Where will the Tesseract be located?

We are evaluating several candidate sites. The most promising option is a decommissioned salt mine — the kind of geological formation typically used for long-term nuclear waste storage, offering exceptional stability and protection. We are conducting further research and expeditions with geologists and long-term planners to identify the optimal location. The goal is to place the Tesseract far from current and future densely populated areas, in a site that is naturally hidden, so that the likelihood of accidental discovery remains very low.

How is the Tesseract protected?

The primary protection strategy is choosing the right location and not disclosing it publicly. A concealed, geologically stable site — deep underground and away from population centers — provides the strongest possible defense against both natural disasters and human interference. The physical properties of the Memocubes themselves provide an additional layer of resilience: fused silica infocores encased in advanced protective materials are engineered to survive extreme conditions for extraordinary timescales.

What are the space probes?

Six deep interstellar space probes will carry the essence of patron sections into deep space. They will be launched on an arithmetic schedule tied to Memocube sales milestones, creating both urgency and newsworthy events. Only the Memocubes that have been uploaded and sealed by the time of each launch will be included on that probe. By the final launch, all Memocubes will be represented. The earlier you acquire, upload, and seal your Memocube, the more probes will carry your legacy.

The probes serve as redundancy — a backup beyond Earth — and as a bold, symbolic gesture. We are sending a courageous message not only to future humans or theoretical extraterrestrial civilizations, but to time itself: we were here, and we mattered.

What is the civilizational corpus?

The civilizational corpus is a curated selection of human creation, wisdom, culture, science, and art that makes up the majority of the Tesseract’s data. It serves as a snapshot of who and what we are as humans before machines began creating synthetic knowledge and, with it, a synthetic reality. In a few hundred years, it may be completely impossible to distinguish human-created content from machine-generated content, as our memories and records may be altered or simply vanish in a flood of artificial knowledge. The Tesseract is a clean restore point — a Library of Alexandria that cannot burn.

Who decides what goes into the civilizational corpus?

Multiple expert groups and external partners from different domains will collaborate on the selection process. The Tesseract community and the broader public will also be invited to participate. The goal is for the Tesseract to reflect all of human creation — not just one culture or perspective.

A cautionary example is the Westinghouse time capsule created for the 1939 World’s Fair. While beautiful and in many ways the Tesseract of its era, its content is almost exclusively Western. Someone who unearths it in 5,000 years might conclude that all humans of that period lived as described in the selected materials. We want to avoid that. The conversation about what is worthy of preserving — and what is not — is itself part of a deeper reflection that the Tesseract project aims to inspire. We may not end up with the perfect selection. But if the journey toward it helps us understand more about who we are as humans, we will have reached at least half of our goal.

Pricing & Ownership

How much does a Memocube cost?

Prices start at roughly $300 for a Surface Memocube and can exceed ten million dollars for one of the eight rare Centercubes. Prices purchased directly from the project are fixed, with limited exceptions such as auctions for Centercubes. That said, we can foresee Memocubes changing hands on the secondary market at prices above their original cost — much like limited-edition luxury cars or watches. We do not encourage speculation and do not position Memocubes as investments or financial assets, but we acknowledge that these dynamics are deeply human and therefore part of the experience.

What are layers and tiers?

The Tesseract is built from 50 concentric layers of Memocubes, from the outermost Surface to the innermost Centercubes. Layers are grouped into six tiers — Surface, Outer Shell, Mid Shell, Inner Shell, Inner Core, and Centercubes — each with its own price range, storage options, and unique benefits. The closer to the center, the more exclusive, protected, and privileged your Memocube. Every tier inherits the benefits of the tiers beyond it. Explore the full breakdown on our Layer Benefits page.

Can I sell or transfer my Memocube?

Yes. You can do with your Memocube — specifically, the rights associated with it — whatever you would be able to do with any item you purchase. You can transfer it for free as a gift or donation, or sell it at whatever price you consider appropriate. A transfer fee may apply for execution on the Tesseract ledger.

Is a Memocube a good investment?

We do not position Memocubes as investments or securities, and we do not recommend treating them like a cryptocurrency. A Memocube is more like art — and in that sense, it can be a meaningful investment. Beyond any possible (but never promised or guaranteed) financial appreciation, it gives something that transcends monetary value. It is an expression of time. Your time. The most valuable thing you will ever own. And it serves as your legacy — the one thing that unites all humans: we all seek to be remembered.

Technology

What technology is used to inscribe data?

We use specialized lasers to inscribe data into fused silica at the nanoscale. This is not a proprietary technology but one that has been researched for decades and is now ready for industrial-scale deployment. Several companies around the world offer this capability, with Microsoft’s Project Silica being among the most prominent. For select Memocubes in the innermost layers, we may additionally incorporate synthetic DNA storage — such as technologies developed by Twist Biosciences — which would allow us to extend the overall capacity of the Tesseract by many multiples.

How can data survive for so long?

The longevity comes from the material properties of fused silica and the protective shell surrounding each infocore. But even without modern technology, thousands of years of survival are demonstrably possible. The Pyramids and their stone blocks inscribed with hieroglyphs are effectively a kind of ancient Memocube. The Code of Hammurabi and the Rosetta Stone — both thousands of years old — are still with us and still readable. Now imagine what is possible with today’s materials science and precision engineering. This is peak human achievement, and we are capturing this moment — technologically as well as culturally.

The DARI Foundation

What is the DARI Foundation?

The DARI Foundation is the driving force behind the Tesseract project. Its mission is to prepare humanity for coexistence with superintelligent AI. To achieve this, DARI must become a powerful, independent voice for humanity at a time when our collective future is being negotiated by capital, geopolitics, and technologists. Both the legitimacy and the independent funding to sustain that voice come from the Tesseract — the legitimacy of at least one million voices, and the financial independence that comes from an estimated $1.6 billion in net proceeds after building the Tesseract, launching the probes, and covering all operational costs.

DARI is not dogmatic about AI or ASI. It is neither doom nor boom nor gloom. It is not deceleration or acceleration. DARI accepts the coevolution of technology and humanity as an inevitable process. But instead of searching for ways to align ASI to humans, it asks a more fundamental question: how can we align machines to human values when we ourselves do not have a clear understanding of what it means to be human? DARI will work on this question and aims to bring hundreds of millions of people into the conversation — so that as we take these critical steps into an uncertain future, people are better informed and prepared for the world that awaits.

Independent funding is essential. DARI has been offered money from various organizations, often directly or indirectly related to the tech and AI industry. While these donations may not appear to have strings attached, they are typically modest, restricted in scope, and sufficient only for one or two years of operation. Accepting them would be like funding lung cancer research with money from big tobacco — the research itself might be sound, but there would be an aftertaste. More importantly, an organization that must return to its donors every eighteen months is not truly independent. If the Tesseract, as a symbolic and collaborative endeavor, cannot gather one million humans and obtain the funding to stand with humanity, that itself would be a missing vote for DARI’s relevance.

Where does the money go?

Revenue from Memocube sales funds the construction of the Tesseract, the launch of the space probes, and all related operations. Everything that remains from the total revenue — projected to exceed $2 billion — goes as an unrestricted donation to the DARI Foundation and its mission. The faster Memocubes are claimed, the sooner DARI can operate at the scale its vision and mission demand.

How can I trust this project will actually be completed?

This is about trust — the trust that the DARI Foundation and the Tesseract team have in themselves, in their supporters, and in their partners. And the trust that you place in this project. We refrain from making promises where we cannot guarantee results, but we guarantee that we will work relentlessly toward the goals we have set.

We have gathered exceptional partners and outstanding individuals. Our board includes people such as Yves Daccord, former Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross; Vaughn Tan, Professor of Uncertainty and Innovation; and Tom Schönauer, an artist known for building large-scale public installations around the world. These partners and humans lend the project credibility and legitimacy.

But trust is at the center of it — as it is with everything. When you visit a car dealer and order a new BMW or Mercedes, you rarely drive away with your car that day. It has to be manufactured according to your specifications. When you sign and make your advance payment, you trust in the ability and integrity of the manufacturer. It is similar here — except that your Memocube is so much more meaningful than a car could ever be.