The Daytona project is a standardized development environment that simplifies the process of setting up and managing development environments. It allows developers to start coding right away without installing software or worrying about permissions, creating an entire environment just for a repository with everything already checked out and ready to go. This platform provides multiple features such as running multiple environments simultaneously, customizing environments with dot files and dev container files, and streamlining the development process through automation. It also enables real-time collaboration and customization options, making it easier for developers to work on projects and focus on writing code.