The Rise of DeSci - Decentralized Science for Impact Investing
What do flamingos and scientists have in common?
Hello Impact Nation,
This week’s newsletter is all about new ways of raising money, boosting scientific research, and earning wealthy royalties (while doing good, of course.)
And … yes! Flamingos and scientists DO have many things in common.
The best way to find more it’s to keep reading below.
Enjoy!
This Week We Are Diving Into:
1. The Rise of DeSci - Decentralized Science for Impact Investing
2. Good Gossip
3. News & Opportunities
5. Coming Soon: Interview with Peter Lazou
Elisa
The Impact Lady
Special guest, Dr. Stefano L Tresca
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The Rise of DeSci - Decentralized Science for Impact Investing
In November 2021, Jonah Erlich - a software engineer - decided to buy an original copy of the U.S. Constitution.
There was just one problem.
The only copy available for sale was auctioned at Sotheby's for $30+ million. Quite a stretch for the salary of an engineer.
So Jonah and his friend brainstormed an idea that eventually would start a revolution.
What if they offered all people around the world to join the fundraising, and split the ownership equally?
No need to start a company (that would be a nightmare of costs, compliance, and regulation.)
No need to join a crowdfunding platform (which usually takes 5% of the fund raised; and requires a long time to approve new projects.)
Pigs CAN fly
Jonah and around 30 other people started a DAO, a “Decentralized Autonomous Organization.”
There are many DAOs, but – for this case - think of a huge piggy bank sitting on the cloud.
It’s a special piggy owned by an entire community, with no middlemen or bank charges.
They named the project “ConstitutionDAO”, of course.
… and raised $47 million in one week (forty-seven million dollars in one week)
… and failed to win the auction.
This is when the story became (even more) interesting.
After a failed auction, the participants just need to connect their crypto-wallet to the project, and get the capital back.
No baking costs.
No bureaucracy.
What if …
What if the project had won the bid?
Well, other projects did.
FlamingoDAO is another DAO, and it was created to buy a collection of NFT art.
They raised $150 million.
Their portfolio’s value hit $1 billion just a few months ago.
Although FlamingoDAO is not 100% an online entity (it’s an older project with some activities delegated to a US company), it proves that the fundraising industry is moving toward the DAOs.
Now, how can we use this revolutionary tool outside the collectible industry?
What do flamingos and scientists have in common?
Most human inventions were started by artists and creators.
Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese to enjoy fireworks, not by military engineers.
Today, it’s happening again. Artists and collectors built the first wave of NFTs and decentralized fundraising.
Finally, scientists are catching up with the “Flamingos”.
What if … again
What if scientists from all around the world could collaborate on an invention, and share the results?
The big pharma would not be so monopolistic as today.
A brilliant but poor scientist from an emerging country may help create a life-saving vaccine, and get the royalties she/he deserves - without even needing to leave his/her country.
A group of diabetics may join funds in a DAO and develop new insulin. How would they price the drug that could save their life?
Meet (some of) the scientists
After two years ruled by artists, scientists are starting to close the gap.
A startup – Molecule - just raised $13 million in seed funding, with lead investor Northpond Ventures.
The entity is not a DAO, but the research projects will be (www.molecule.to).
Each patent could be represented by an NFT owned by a community of scientists and investors.
Every royalty earned by a project will be shared automatically and transparently by a smart contract into the wallets of the participants (scientists and investors).
. No need for a bank account (that in emerging countries are not as common as we think),
. No currency conversion costs,
. No middlemen.
The startup Molecule is not alone. If you are curious about the industry, here are a few other projects that you can check (in alphabetical order): LabDAO, PsyDAO, SCINET, and VitaDAO.
Things will never be the same.
Things are turning flamingos.
Good Gossip
Congrats to …
David Hickey ↪ has been appointed Head of Sustainability at BlackRock, a global asset manager and technology provider.
Andre De Bakhapouve ↪ has been appointed Group Chief Risk Officer at Credit Corporation Limited, a leading finance, property and investment group operating throughout the Pacific.
Tara Marlow ↪ has been appointed Group General Counsel at Kerten Hospitality, a mixed-use, ESG and lifestyle operator.
Gerald Chiddick ↪ has been appointed Regional Executive at Zurich North America, a global multi-line insurer that services customers in both global and local markets.
Molecule ↪ raised $13M in a seed funding round to build out an accelerator framework for biotech and create a non-profit foundation to steward the Molecule protocol. Lead investor: Northpond Ventures. Other investors: Backed VC, Shine Capital, Speedinvest and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan
Siply ↪ raised $19M Pre-Series A round of funding to achieve triple-digit Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). Lead investor: QI Ventures. Other investors: LetsVenture, JITO, Vivek Sunder, CEO of Cuemath
Launch Africa Ventures ↪ raised $36.3M in funding to invest in B2B and B2B2C startups across Africa.
News & Opportunities
EU Parliament is attempting to block nuclear energy from being labeled as “Green”. The vote will prevent green finance and grants to be applied to nuclear (and gas.)
Spain’s impact investments reach €2.4B as private sector activity booms.
Millennials are driving growth in impact investment in Australia. A survey highlighted millennials are the generation most interested in impact investing.
Equitable announces an investment into the “Black Impact Fund”, a Black-led real estate developer and investment fund, focused on providing high-quality, affordable, and workforce housing in California.
Adani and TotalEnergies announce a $50 billion co-investment in green hydrogen. The 10 years plan aims to build a production capacity of 1 million tonnes a year for green hydrogen before 2030.
🚀 COMING SOON
Democratizing Social Impact - With Peter Lazou, Chairman Otherdots Foundation
Video interview available from Thursday - Stay tuned
It should not be necessary to add any disclaimer but … Let’s say it anyway! This is not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. DYOR - Do Your Own Research!