I have also recently become aware of IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) and found several threads here on the SAFEnet forum discussing the overlaps and differences between IPFS and SAFE.
The key takeaway I got from those threads is that while they have similar objectives, IPFS is an incremental, ad-hoc approach built on existing Clearnet technology vs the get-it-right-from-first principles / “boil the ocean” / birthing-the-whole-elephant approach taken by SAFE.
Once again, I was impressed with the collaborative, non-defensive stance taken by the SAFE community, the gist of which is, “let’s see what we can learn from IPFS but we still believe in our approach.” Although I generally favour incremental development over re-inventing the wheel (to continue mixing metaphors), perhaps the fundamental principles of SAFE are so radically at odds with the existing technology that a major break is justified. My concern is that we may end up with a BETA vs VHS situation where SAFE is the best solution but some other, more opportunistic, good-enough solution becomes the standard.
That said, I also watched the video of @happybeing’s DevCon talk Supercharging the SAFE Network with Project Solid which is an perfect example of collaborative work with related projects.