Participated · Seed · Nov 2025

Self is a San Francisco–based identity-solution provider that uses zero-knowledge (ZK) cryptography to verify characteristics such as personhood, age, and country of residence while keeping underlying data private. The platform supports privacy-preserving identity checks for users in more than 174 countries and is already integrated by Web2 and Web3 partners including Google Cloud, Aave, and Velodrome. It was created by Celo contributors Rene Reinsberg, Marek Olszewski, and CEO Eric Nakagawa after acquiring the OpenPassport project. By combining ZK proofs with a user-friendly experience, the company aims to foster a more secure, human-first internet. Fresh capital is earmarked for expanding engineering and operational capacity to accelerate product development and global reach. No revenue or user counts were disclosed, but the breadth of geographic coverage underscores early traction. The firm positions itself as critical infrastructure for compliance, onboarding, and reputation in decentralized and traditional applications alike.

Participated · Equity · Oct 2024

Mento Labs is the team behind Mento, a decentralized EVM platform for launching and operating stable assets on Celo. Its core product is the Mento stability protocol, described as an over-collateralized, decentralized and transparent mechanism that uses a crypto reserve to allow users to adjust the supply of Mento stable assets in response to demand. The protocol also allows users to exchange Mento stable assets with reserve collateral assets. Mento published a stablecoin roadmap that outlines adding local digital currencies PUSO (Philippines), cCOP (Colombia) and cGHS (Ghana) to its growing roster of decentralized stablecoins. The Mento reserve was previously called the Celo reserve. The team announced a $10M raise to support the project’s development and roadmap publication.