Participated · Seed · Mar 2024

Synnax develops an AI-driven credit intelligence platform that aggregates encrypted and public data to produce consensus, forward-looking credit ratings via a decentralized network of incentivized data scientists. The protocol uses state-of-the-art encryption so issuers can confidentially share data while models infer on encrypted inputs. Outputs from multiple independent models are aggregated to generate unbiased, consensus-based credit intelligence and frequent updates such as probabilities of default and predictive financial ratios. Synnax employs blockchain-enabled processes and a token-based participation model to ensure transparency, scalability, and incentives for contributors. The company positions its product to facilitate on-chain migration of the conventional private credit market and to address transparency, bias, and conflicts of interest in existing rating systems. The recent pre-seed funding will support continued product development and go-to-market efforts.

Participated · Seed · Jun 2021

Dtravel operates a decentralized home-sharing platform owned and governed by its community through the Dtravel Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). The platform is powered by a native token, TRVL, which hosts hold and can use for bookings, staking to qualify for rewards, and participating in governance. Dtravel leverages decentralized finance (DeFi) blockchain technology and aims to bring more transparency and lower fees to short- and long-term rentals. TRVL is slated to launch on Binance Smart Chain and the Ethereum Network. The company accepts both cryptocurrency and traditional payment methods and has partnered with Binance-backed Travala.com. Dtravel recently closed a $5M seed funding round to support its product and network growth.

Led · Seed · Jun 2021

Pontem develops Move and EVM-compatible infrastructure and developer tooling, including a Move VM platform that enables developers to build Move and EVM-based projects without relying on Solidity. Its product lineup includes Pontem Wallet for the Aptos ecosystem and the Liquidswap AMM DEX. Move, a language derived from Rust, and Pontem’s Move VM offer enhanced security and throughput via parallel processing. Pontem has deployed products on Aptos that have reached 40K weekly active users and Liquidswap has seen up to $1M in daily volume. The company is led by co-founder Alejo Pinto. Pontem plans to use new funding to build Move VM products on EVM-compatible blockchains and to support the launch of Move L2 Lumio, an Optimistic rollup on Ethereum that will leverage alternative L1s like Aptos to process transactions. Pontem builds a framework for decentralized applications to connect Facebook's Diem (permissioned) blockchain with public, permissionless platforms. The project focuses on enabling integrations with Polkadot, Ethereum and EOS to give developers access to broader liquidity, data and user bases. Pontem says this work will expose DeFi protocols and NFTs to Facebook's 2.7 billion users. The team previously advanced the project using in-house resources and views the new funding as a way to accelerate growth. Leadership changes accompanied the raise, including the addition of Alejo Pinto as chief growth officer. Co-founder Stas Oskin emphasized cross-chain interoperability as a core goal for the project.

Participated · Seed · May 2021

Curio is a Los Angeles-based NFT platform for the entertainment industry led by CEO Juan M. Hernandez. The company delivers digital collectibles and licensed NFT drops, auctions and a secondary marketplace driven by non-fungible token technology. It has launched multiple licensed auctions, drops and products in partnership with entertainment IP holders. Past releases include collections tied to the American Gods television series, the Concrete Park graphic novel series, and Universal Pictures’ Scott Pilgrim vs. the World; each drop sold out in minutes and the NFTs are now trading on Curio’s secondary marketplace. Curio is partnering with Topps to produce NFTs from Mars Attacks!. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and business reach. Curio is a platform that enables brands and content owners to create NFT-driven digital fan experiences and limited-edition collectible assets. It allows IP owners to license and monetize rare and exclusive digital assets so fans can share and interact with content and characters. The company is led by CEO Juan M. Hernandez and is based in Los Angeles, CA. Curio plans to use recently raised seed capital to expand its team and operations and further develop its proprietary technology and partner integrations. As part of that effort it will accelerate integrations with Filecoin and Polygon to enhance platform functionality for entertainment brands creating NFTs. Curio has already partnered with Fremantle to create digital collectibles for fans of American Gods on STARZ in the U.S. and on Amazon Prime Video internationally.

Led · Equity · Dec 2020

Cere Network builds a blockchain-based customer relations management system and operates a decentralized data cloud. The company runs its own blockchain that supports Polkadot and includes bridges to Ethereum and Polygon to enable data transfers. Cere plans to complete integration of its decentralized data cloud into Polygon’s protocol and Polkadot by the end of the third quarter. The recent funding will be used for new hires, developer network growth and app development to accelerate those integrations. Cere has grown its team to more than 60 employees globally to meet demand for its decentralized data cloud launch. The company was described as Berlin-based in the article, and an update notes it has changed the location of its headquarters. Cere Network offers a decentralized data cloud (DDC) platform that hosts thousands of data queries on a blockchain-based ledger and uses blockchain identity plus data encryption to onboard and segment consumer data. The platform creates customizable, interoperable virtual datasets accessible in near real time by business units, partners, and ML processes, and it launches to developers today. Cere plans an open data marketplace powered by its Cere token to enable trustless data-sharing, staking, and governance; the public token sale is scheduled on Republic (March 31) and will be the first token sale on that platform. The company says it is working with a number of Fortune 1,000 customers and aims to compete with incumbent data clouds like Snowflake by focusing on specific vertical solutions and improved data governance. Financially, Cere has raised $5 million in the current round led by Republic Labs and previously raised another $5 million, bringing total disclosed capital raised to $10 million. Cere Network is developing an enterprise-grade Decentralized Data Cloud (DDC) and CRM tools aimed at returning data ownership to businesses. The company plans to build its CRM and DDC platform on the Polkadot network and make the product available to other applications built on Polkadot. Cere positions the DDC as an alternative to mainstream cloud providers and legacy CRM systems. CEO Fred Jin said the platform “gives businesses back ownership of their data” and enables companies to build their own customer data ecosystems. The startup is Binance-backed and has previously raised a $3.5 million seed round announced in August 2019. It most recently secured an additional $1.5 million to further develop the DDC and related products. Cere Network provides a blockchain CRM ecosystem designed to capture the entire customer journey and enable service data integration and collaboration. It stores key user data such as purchases, achievements and usage in the user’s wallet. Businesses and vendors access Cere’s microservices platform via permissioned proxy keys to secure user data sharing and enable direct user acquisition across apps and brands. The company intends to use the seed proceeds to accelerate growth of its ecosystem. Cere has established a new office in New York City and will launch the Cere Network Innovation Factory in Berlin during Berlin Blockchain Week. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Fred Jin.