Beta Pilot — Applications Close 30 March 2026

Village Beta Programme

Sovereign community platforms with constitutional AI governance. We are selecting founding communities to shape the platform alongside us.

What Village Is

Village is a sovereign digital platform for communities and organisations. Every Village is a self-contained space where members communicate, share stories, coordinate activities, and make decisions — on infrastructure you control, governed by constitutional principles your community sets.

Unlike social media platforms that extract data for advertising and train AI on your content, Village operates on a subscription model with no advertising, no data selling, no algorithmic feeds, and no engagement manipulation. Your community's data remains within your community's boundary.

Village AI — the platform's built-in AI assistant — is governed by a constitutional architecture where your community sets the boundaries the AI operates within. The AI cannot override them. The platform operator cannot override them. The governance is structural, not policy.

Guardian Agents — Deployed in Production

Every AI interaction in Village is protected by Guardian Agents: four interlocking layers that verify AI responses against your community's actual records using mathematical similarity (not more AI), monitor for patterns, protect against manipulation, and learn from your moderators' decisions. Members see confidence badges on every response and can trace any AI claim back to its source. Read the full announcement.

What Makes Village Different

Sovereign infrastructure — no Big Tech cloud dependency
Guardian Agents — mathematical AI verification
Constitutional AI governance defined per community
Local AI inference on sovereign hardware
Self-hosted encrypted chat (Matrix) and video calling (Jitsi)
Five languages including Te Reo Māori
Multi-tenant isolation with per-community constitution
GDPR compliance by architecture, not by policy

What Beta Founding Partners Receive

Founding Rates — Locked for Life

Beta founding partners pay 50% of general availability pricing, locked for the life of the subscription. This rate will not increase as long as your subscription remains active.

Guardian Agents + Village AI

Mathematical verification, confidence badges, source traceability, and Village AI with scheduled retraining — included in every beta subscription.

Direct Input

Beta founding partners have direct input into platform development. Feature priorities, governance design, and roadmap decisions are shaped by the communities using the platform.

Full Platform Access

Stories, galleries, documents, chat, video calling, democratic polls, shopfront, calendar, AI assistant, moderation tools, and federation — all features available from the outset.

Beta Pricing

All prices are in euros (€). Two Village types, each adapted to its purpose through the vocabulary system. Every Village includes a base of 25 members, storage, video calling, Village AI, and Guardian Agents.

Village Community

Parishes, clubs, families, neighbourhoods, heritage groups, alumni associations, cooperatives

€25/month
GA price: €50/month
Founding rate — locked for life
  • 25 members included
  • 10 GB storage
  • 250 video minutes/month
  • Village AI — weekly retraining cycle
  • Guardian Agents included
  • Full community feature set
  • Democratic polls and governance
  • Vocabulary adapted to your community type (family, church, club, neighbourhood, heritage, alumni)

Village Business

Small businesses, cooperatives, social enterprises

€50/month
GA price: €100/month
Founding rate — locked for life
  • 25 employees included
  • 25 GB storage
  • 500 video minutes/month
  • Village AI — daily retraining cycle
  • Guardian Agents included
  • CRM and invoicing
  • Project management
  • Full community feature set plus business tools

Add-ons (at standard pricing during beta)

Add-on Price (€) Details
Additional 25 members/employees €20/month Up to 200 members total
Additional 25 GB storage €15/month No upper limit
Additional 250 video minutes €10/month Per month
Priority AI €25/month On-demand retraining outside scheduled cycle

Initial capacity limit: During the first three months, beta communities may grow to a maximum of 50 members (base 25 plus one add-on block). This ensures platform stability during the scaling period.

Discounts for community organisations: Qualifying community organisations may apply for reduced rates on a case-by-case basis. Contact us to discuss.

Passport (free tier) remains free — sovereign email, calendar, and privacy tools at no cost. Learn more.

Beta Slots and Selection

Beta slots are limited to 20–25 communities and are awarded at the founder's sole discretion. Selection is based on alignment with the platform's strengths, not on community size or profile.

Selection Criteria

Applications That Are Not Accepted

Applicants whose applications are not accepted will be notified. No reason is required or provided. Applicants may reapply after three months.

No application data is retained for unsuccessful applications.

Beta Timeline

March 2026 — Now

Applications open.

30 March 2026 — Applications Close

All applications must be submitted by this date. Late applications will not be considered for the founding round.

April 2026

Accepted communities notified and onboarded. Free access during the onboarding period.

1 May 2026 — Billing Commences

Founding rate billing begins for all accepted beta communities.

Throughout 2026

Platform development shaped by beta community feedback. Guardian Agents refinement. Feature expansion based on real community requirements.

General Availability

Standard pricing applies to new subscriptions. Beta founding partners retain their founding rates permanently.

Mutual Expectations

From You

  • Active use of the platform with your community
  • Honest feedback on what works and what does not
  • Willingness to report issues and suggest improvements
  • Patience with a platform that is still maturing
  • Moderator engagement with Guardian Agents alerts

From Us

  • Responsive support and direct communication
  • Transparency about what is working and what is not
  • Your founding rate honoured for the life of your subscription
  • Your data sovereignty maintained without exception
  • Your community's constitutional principles respected

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "beta" mean in practice?

The platform is live and functional — communities are using it in production. Beta means we are continuing to refine features, improve the interface, and expand capabilities based on community feedback. You may encounter rough edges; issues are addressed promptly.

What happens to my data if I decide to leave?

You have full exit rights. Your data can be exported at any time. When you leave, your data is deleted from our infrastructure — not archived, not retained, deleted. This is a constitutional guarantee, not a policy subject to change.

What skill level is required?

For members: If you can use email and a web browser, you can use Village. No technical knowledge is required.

For the moderator: The Village owner is automatically the first moderator — there is no gap at launch. Moderation at Phase 0 (stories, chat, member directory) is straightforward. As you enable more features, the platform provides a structured accreditation path for additional moderators: guided tutorials, practice checklists, and short assessments that teach the skills rather than assume them. No technical background is needed, but this is a hands-on role — not a title.

Progressive enablement: Villages launch at Phase 0 — core communication only. Six feature phases (0–5) allow the owner to enable capabilities progressively: governance, AI features, federation, and advanced tools are added as the community and its moderators are ready. The platform grows with you rather than arriving fully configured.

If no one in your community is ready to moderate: That is fine at Phase 0 — the owner handles it, and there is little to manage. During the beta programme, founding communities have direct access to the founder for support and guidance. The accreditation path is designed to develop moderators from within your community over time, not to require them on day one.

Typical moderator time commitment:

Scenario Estimated time
15 members, Phase 0–1 (stories, chat, members) ~30 minutes per week
50 members, Phase 2–3 (+ polls, calendar, AI features) 1–2 hours per week
100+ members, Phase 4–5 (+ federation, Smart Inbox) 3–5 hours per week; consider a second moderator

These are estimates based on typical community activity. A very active 15-member community may need more; a quiet 50-member community may need less. The figures assume a single moderator.

What is the application process?

Submit a brief application describing your community and its intended use of Village. Applications are reviewed by the founder. We select communities whose needs align with the platform's strengths.

Why are prices in euros?

The euro is our contractual currency, providing consistency for our international beta communities across New Zealand, Australia, Europe, and North America. Payment processing supports local currency display where available.

When does billing commence?

Billing begins 1 May 2026. Accepted communities receive free access during April for onboarding. Once billing commences, you pay the founding rate for the life of your subscription.

What does "locked for life" mean?

Your founding rate will not increase as long as your subscription remains active. If you cancel and later resubscribe, the prevailing rate at that time will apply. This is our commitment to the communities that supported us at an early stage.

Can I change Village type later?

Yes. If you start with Village Community and later require Village Business capabilities, you can upgrade. The 50% founding discount applies to the new type and remains locked for the life of your subscription.

What is the initial member cap?

During the first three months, beta communities may have up to 50 members (the base 25 plus one additional block of 25). This limit ensures platform stability as we scale. After three months, communities may grow to 200 members through additional add-on blocks.

Apply Before 30 March

20–25 founding slots at 50% of general availability pricing, locked for life. Applications close 30 March 2026.

Apply for Beta Access

Questions? Contact us · Learn about Village AI · How Guardian Agents work · About My Digital Sovereignty