TERMS OF SERVICE

By accessing or using Substrate ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Service.

Substrate is an AI-powered hardware development platform that generates firmware code for embedded systems. These terms govern your use of our AI code generation, compilation services, and related features.

Substrate is an AI-powered platform for embedded systems development. We turn natural language descriptions into working firmware code.

What Substrate Does:

• Generates firmware code for Arduino, ESP32, STM32, and other platforms
• Creates wiring diagrams and component recommendations
• Compiles code and delivers working binaries
• Debugs compilation errors and suggests fixes
• Manages multi-file projects and library dependencies

How It Works:

Substrate uses large language models from OpenAI and Anthropic, combined with hardware-specific knowledge, to generate code. We've trained on successful embedded systems projects to understand what works for different platforms.

Note: Results vary based on project complexity and hardware platform. Some configurations work better than others - that's just reality.

You must create an account to use Substrate. You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized use

We use Clerk for authentication. Your account credentials are managed securely through our authentication provider.

You agree NOT to use the Service to:

• Generate code for illegal, harmful, or malicious purposes
• Create devices that violate laws, regulations, or safety standards
• Reverse engineer or attempt to extract our AI models or proprietary systems
• Abuse rate limits or attempt to overload our infrastructure
• Share your account credentials with others
• Use the Service to compete with or replicate our business

Code Quality: Substrate generates code using AI models trained on embedded systems projects. The code usually works, but it's not perfect.

Your Responsibilities:

• Test Everything: Always test generated code before deploying to hardware
• Security Review: Check for security issues, especially for internet-connected devices
• License Compliance: Review code for potential license conflicts (we recommend automated scanning tools)
• Safety: Follow all manufacturer safety guidelines for your hardware

What We Don't Guarantee: We don't warrant that generated code is bug-free, production-ready, or free from third-party intellectual property claims. Use Substrate as a development tool, not as your final code review.

Substrate improves by learning from real projects. Here's exactly how that works and what control you have:

Free Tier: Code Training Enabled

By using Substrate for free, you contribute to making it better. When your generated code compiles successfully, we use it to train our AI models. This is how we can offer the service at no cost.

What we collect from successful builds:

• Firmware code that compiled without errors
• Hardware configuration (board type, components, connections)
• What patterns worked for specific platforms
• Compilation metadata (build time, warnings, optimizations)

What we DON'T collect:

• Code you write manually (only AI-generated code from Substrate)
• Failed attempts or debugging sessions
• API keys, passwords, credentials, or secrets
• Personal information embedded in comments

Pro Tier: Training Opt-Out Available

Paid subscribers ($15/month or higher) can disable training data collection entirely in Settings → Privacy → Training Data.

When opted out:

• Your code is never sent to training pipelines
• No retention beyond your active workspace
• Complete privacy for your projects
• Some collaborative features may be limited

Why this model? Free users contribute data that makes Substrate better for everyone. Paid users support development and get privacy controls. It's a fair trade-off that keeps the service sustainable.

Commercial Use: We may use trained models commercially, including licensing to partners or releasing as open-source tools. You own your generated code, but we can use anonymized patterns to improve models.

Your Code: You retain all rights to code you generate using Substrate. We do not claim ownership of your generated firmware or projects.

Our Platform: Substrate, our AI models, infrastructure, and branding remain our exclusive property. You may not copy, modify, or redistribute our platform code or systems.

Training Data: We may use anonymized usage data to improve our AI models, but we will not use your proprietary project code without explicit permission.

License Grant for Training: By using Substrate's free tier, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free license to use successfully compiled code for AI model training. This includes the right to analyze patterns, create derivative training data, and improve our models. You can revoke this by upgrading to Pro and opting out, but previously collected data remains in training datasets (anonymized).

Third-Party AI Models: Substrate uses models from OpenAI and Anthropic, which provide copyright protections to their API customers. While we benefit from these protections, we cannot extend direct indemnification to end users. As a startup, our liability is limited to what you paid us (see Section 11).

Your Representations: By generating code through Substrate, you represent that:

• You have the right to use and grant licenses for uploaded code/prompts
• Your use doesn't infringe third-party intellectual property
• You're authorized to share this code (not employer confidential)
• You accept responsibility for any claims arising from your generated code

Substrate offers tiered subscription plans with different usage limits and privacy controls:

• Free Tier: Limited compilations per day, core platforms (Arduino, ESP32), code training enabled (mandatory - see Section 5A), community support
• Pro Tier ($15/month): Unlimited compilations, all platforms (STM32, advanced boards), training opt-out available, priority support, advanced features
• Team Tier ($50/month): Everything in Pro, team workspaces, private training opt-out for all members, dedicated support, usage analytics

Usage beyond your plan limits may result in throttling or upgrade prompts. Billing is handled through Stripe. Subscriptions auto-renew unless canceled.

Privacy Note: The key difference in paid tiers is training data control. Free users contribute to improving Substrate; paid users get to choose. See Section 5A for details.

We strive for 99.9% uptime but do not guarantee uninterrupted service. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to:

• Scheduled maintenance (announced in advance)
• Emergency updates or security patches
• Infrastructure provider outages
• Force majeure events

We will provide status updates at status.bedrockdynamics.studio during outages.

We may suspend or terminate your account if you:

• Violate these Terms of Service
• Engage in abusive or fraudulent behavior
• Fail to pay for subscribed services
• Use the Service in a manner that harms our infrastructure or other users

You may cancel your account at any time through your account settings. Upon termination, your data will be deleted according to our Privacy Policy.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that:

• The Service will be error-free or uninterrupted
• Generated code will be bug-free or production-ready
• AI-generated designs will meet your specific requirements
• Compilation will always succeed for all platforms

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BEDROCK DYNAMICS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, OR GOODWILL.

Our total liability shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months prior to the event giving rise to liability.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Bedrock Dynamics from any claims, damages, or expenses arising from:

• Your use of generated code or hardware designs
• Your violation of these terms
• Your violation of any third-party rights
• Devices or projects you create using the Service

We may modify these Terms of Service at any time. Material changes will be announced via:

• Email notification to registered users
• In-app notification banner
• Blog post at blog.bedrockdynamics.studio

Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the new terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Service.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction where Bedrock Dynamics is registered, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Any disputes shall be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association.

For questions about these Terms of Service, contact us at: