Initial docs: model and stack overview

README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+# Inference Cooperative
+
+**Private AI, governed together.**
+
+The Inference Cooperative is a member-governed project providing private AI inference. We are fiscally sponsored by [Metagov](https://metagov.org), a nonprofit, and funded through our [Open Collective](https://opencollective.com/inference-cooperative).
+
+- **Website:** https://inference.coop
+- **Chat:** https://chat.inference.coop
+- **Open Collective:** https://opencollective.com/inference-cooperative
+- **Contact:** info@inference.coop
+
+---
+
+## The model
+
+The Inference Cooperative is a **member-governed** AI inference utility. Members contribute on a sliding scale (currently $10–20/month) and, in return, get access to private AI inference through a shared, cooperatively governed infrastructure.
+
+Because we are legally under a nonprofit (Metagov is our fiscal sponsor), we are **member-governed** rather than member-owned: members direct the project through governance, while the nonprofit holds the legal and financial structure.
+
+### Membership
+
+- **Sliding scale:** $10–20/month
+- **Governance:** members participate in decisions about models, privacy, and direction
+- **Access:** private AI inference through the cooperative's gateway
+
+---
+
+## The stack
+
+The Inference Cooperative runs a self-hosted stack on [Cloudron](https://cloudron.io), with all inference routed through a single gateway.
+
+```
+Members → LibreChat (chat.inference.coop)
+              ↓
+        LiteLLM gateway (gateway.inference.coop)
+              ↓
+        Inference backend (Ollama Cloud today; TEE-protected Tinfoil planned)
+```
+
+### Components
+
+| Component | Purpose | URL |
+|-----------|---------|-----|
+| **LibreChat** | Member-facing chat interface | chat.inference.coop |
+| **LiteLLM** | AI gateway — keys, metering, model routing | gateway.inference.coop |
+| **Gitea** | Git hosting (code + docs) | git.inference.coop |
+| **Loomio** | Member governance / decision-making | (forum) |
+| **Open Collective** | Membership billing + fiscal sponsorship | opencollective.com/inference-cooperative |
+
+### Models
+
+The gateway currently exposes two models:
+
+- **DeepSeek V4 Flash** — default model, best for agentic tasks
+- **GPT-OSS 120B** — lightweight fallback
+
+### Privacy
+
+Privacy is a core value. The current backend (Ollama Cloud) is a policy-based privacy model. The roadmap is to move to **TEE-protected inference** (via Tinfoil), which provides architectural — not just policy — privacy guarantees.
+
+---
+
+## Governance
+
+The Inference Cooperative is fiscally sponsored by [Metagov](https://metagov.org). Members govern the project through [Loomio](https://www.loomio.com) and the Open Collective.
+
+---
+
+*This documentation lives in a public git repository. Contributions welcome.*