Terms of Service

1Introduction

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Mafutai platform, including the website at mafutai.co.za, APIs, GPU rental marketplace, templates, console, and related tooling (collectively, the "Platform"). By creating an account, renting compute, or providing hardware, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

These Terms incorporate by reference the Privacy Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, Provider Agreement, and Refund Policy. In the event of a conflict, these Terms take precedence unless the specific document states otherwise.

2Definitions

• "Customer" — any registered user who rents GPU compute time via the Platform.
• "Provider" — any registered user who makes GPU hardware available for rental on the Platform.
• "Instance" — a running GPU workload provisioned by a Customer on a Provider's hardware.
• "Token" — prepaid platform credits used to pay for compute services.
• "Template" — a pre-configured container image (e.g., PyTorch, vLLM) available for one-click deployment.
• "Personal Information" — information as defined under the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).

3Services Provided

• Customers may rent GPU compute time by the minute from verified hardware Providers.
• Providers may list GPU hardware for rental subject to the Provider Agreement and hardware verification requirements.
• Mafutai acts as a marketplace intermediary. We facilitate the transaction but do not own the GPU hardware rented by Customers.
• Mafutai does not inspect, control, or endorse Customer workloads beyond automated abuse detection.
• Templates are provided as-is. Mafutai may update or retire Templates at its discretion.
• The Platform may include community features (chat, forums) which are subject to the Acceptable Use Policy.

4Accounts & Access

• You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.
• You must provide accurate and complete registration information and keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for safeguarding your credentials, API keys, and all activity under your account.
• You must immediately notify us at security@mafutai.co.za if you suspect unauthorised access.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is required for console and API key management.

We may suspend or terminate access if these Terms are violated, platform integrity or security is at risk, required payments are overdue, or if required by law.

5Acceptable Use

You must comply with the Acceptable Use Policy. Violations may result in immediate suspension or termination without refund, at Mafutai's sole discretion.

Without limiting the AUP, you may not use the Platform for: cryptocurrency mining, DDoS attacks, distributing malware, processing data in violation of POPIA or other applicable law, or any activity that degrades the experience for other users.

6Payments & Billing

• Pricing is displayed per GPU model and per minute of compute time.
• Compute charges accrue from Instance start to Instance stop. If you fail to stop an Instance, charges continue to accrue.
• Charges may be prepaid via Token purchases or billed per rental as indicated in the console.
• All prices are listed in South African Rand (ZAR) unless stated otherwise.
• Mafutai may change pricing with 14 days' notice. Existing running Instances are billed at the rate in effect when they were started.
• Token purchases are non-refundable except as stated in the Refund Policy.
• Mafutai may charge a platform fee on each transaction. The fee percentage is disclosed in the console before confirmation.
• Provider revenue shares are governed by the Provider Agreement.
• You are responsible for all applicable taxes on your purchases.

7Refunds & Credits

Refund eligibility is governed by the Refund Policy. In summary:

• If a Provider's hardware fails during a rental (verified by platform telemetry), you are entitled to a credit for unused compute time.
• Refunds for Instances that completed normally are not available.
• Token balance refunds are available within 7 days of purchase if no Tokens have been spent.
• Refund requests should be sent to billing@mafutai.co.za with your account email and rental ID.

Under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), you may have additional rights. Where CPA rights conflict with these Terms, the CPA prevails for qualifying transactions.

8Intellectual Property

• Mafutai retains all rights to the Platform, its branding, code, and documentation.
• You retain all rights to your data, code, models, and outputs generated on the Platform.
• Mafutai does not claim ownership of Customer workloads, datasets, or model weights.
• By uploading content to the Platform, you grant Mafutai a limited licence to store, transmit, and cache that content solely to provide the service.
• Templates distributed by Mafutai may include third-party open-source software. Licence terms for each Template are documented in the Template catalogue.

9Data Processing & POPIA

Mafutai processes Personal Information in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA) and the Privacy Policy.

• Mafutai acts as a "responsible party" (as defined by POPIA) for account and billing data.
• For Customer workloads, Mafutai acts as an "operator" processing data on the Customer's instructions.
• Customers remain responsible for ensuring their workloads comply with applicable data protection laws, including obtaining necessary consents for any Personal Information they process.
• If you process special Personal Information (health, biometric, children's data) on the Platform, you must notify Mafutai in advance and obtain appropriate legal authorisation.

Our Information Officer can be contacted at privacy@mafutai.co.za for POPIA-related requests.

10No Warranty

The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available." To the maximum extent permitted by law, Mafutai disclaims all warranties, whether express, implied, or statutory, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

Mafutai does not guarantee: uptime or availability of specific GPUs, the accuracy of telemetry or performance metrics, that the Platform will be uninterrupted or error-free, or the suitability of any Template for a particular use case.

11Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law (including the CPA where applicable):

• Mafutai is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, data, business opportunity, or goodwill.
• Our total aggregate liability for any claims arising from or related to these Terms shall not exceed the fees you paid to Mafutai in the 90 days preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
• Providers are solely responsible for the availability, performance, and safety of their hardware. Mafutai is not liable for Provider hardware failures, data loss on Provider nodes, or Provider downtime.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, or any liability that cannot be excluded under South African law.

12Indemnification

• You agree to indemnify and hold Mafutai harmless from claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including legal fees) arising from your use of the Platform, violation of these Terms, or infringement of third-party rights.
• Providers additionally indemnify Mafutai against claims arising from hardware defects, energy supply issues, or failure to meet declared specifications.
• Mafutai will notify you promptly of any claim and cooperate reasonably in the defence.

13Termination

• You may close your account at any time via the console or by emailing support@mafutai.co.za.
• Upon account closure, running Instances will be stopped and any remaining Token balance will be handled per the Refund Policy.
• Mafutai may terminate your account with 30 days' notice, or immediately for breach of these Terms or the AUP.
• Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, IP, and Governing Law) will survive.
• After termination, Mafutai will retain your data only as required by law or legitimate business purposes (e.g., billing records).

14Dispute Resolution

We encourage you to contact us first at support@mafutai.co.za to resolve any dispute informally.

• Step 1 — Negotiation: The parties will attempt to resolve the dispute through good-faith negotiation within 30 days of written notice.
• Step 2 — Mediation: If negotiation fails, the dispute will be submitted to mediation administered by a mutually agreed mediator in Johannesburg, South Africa.
• Step 3 — Litigation: If mediation fails within 60 days, either party may pursue the matter in the courts of the Republic of South Africa.

For CPA-qualifying transactions, you may also lodge a complaint with the National Consumer Commission or the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud.

15Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond reasonable control, including natural disasters, power outages (including load shedding), internet disruptions, government actions, pandemics, or acts of war. The affected party must notify the other promptly and use reasonable efforts to mitigate the impact.

16Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, as applicable. Subject to the dispute resolution process above, the courts of South Africa have exclusive jurisdiction.

17Severability & Waiver

• If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.
• A failure to enforce any right or provision does not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.
• These Terms, together with the documents they incorporate by reference, constitute the entire agreement between you and Mafutai regarding the Platform.

18Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Effective date" at the top of this page and, for material changes, notify registered users by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect.

Continued use of the Platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you disagree with the changes, you may close your account before the effective date.

19Contact

For questions about these Terms or the Platform:

• General: support@mafutai.co.za
• Billing: billing@mafutai.co.za
• Privacy / POPIA: privacy@mafutai.co.za
• Security: security@mafutai.co.za