Open Web Collective (OWC), a blockchain and digital assets venture firm has accelerated 26 Web3 companies since its founding way back in 2020. Since that time, OWC alumni companies have collectively raised over $315M USD in venture funding – a tremendous sum in a short period of time. Additionally, one of their portfolio companies achieved unicorn status ($1B USD valuation) with 4 more achieving centaur status ($100m ARR).
This is due in part to founder Mimi Idada’s ability to pick winners, not to mention her work ethic.
“We believe the OWC Accelerator is a great opportunity for the development of the BSG product because of OWC’s strong focus on scaling early-stage Web3 projects, and their extensive network of Web3 ecosystem partners, advisors, and investors that facilitate growth. We are confident in OWC’s laser focus on teaching founders top practical skills covering tech, product, legal, marketing, community management, and fundraising,” said Cyril Zilberbord, Co-founder of Black Sheep Gaming, one of this cohort’s particpants.
Added Serafim Korablev, Co-founder of Via Protocol, “We are excited to join OWC’s first-class Web3 accelerator, and become a part of this community.”
The full list of roster of participating startups include the following:
Via Protocol: Unifies all cross-chain bridges and other routers
Founders: Serafim Korablev, Dan Okhlopkov
Through its intelligent routing system, Via Protocol’s cross-chain liquidity aggregation solution can automatically scan over 70 DEXs across 25 networks, and 26 of the most popular cross-chain bridges to let users securely swap tokens on the fastest and cheapest routes. Via grants users the ability to seamlessly move tokens between ecosystems – even if there is no direct bridge – by aggregating more routers, bridges, and chains than any other cross-chain router to ensure users can find the most efficient, secure routes, with the most liquidity and cheapest fees, to swap their tokens across chains.
Gridlock: Distributed crypto wallets that make blockchain ownership easy and safe
Founder: Derek Rodriguez
Gridlock uses threshold signature cryptography to form a distributed storage network capable of securely storing encryption keys, protecting from both loss and theft. Gridlock does this by splitting your private key into five pieces which are then distributed among friends, or guardians. The main benefit is that no one can sign a transaction without your share of the key and majority approval. All devices not in this network are not allowed entry without your permission, and all pieces of the key are useless alone.
Hashtack Finance: Fast, 3rd party-free loans on the blockchain
Founders: Vinay Kumar
Hashtack Finance is a zk-native money market protocol allowing anyone, anywhere around the world to borrow up to three times their collateral in BTC, BNB, USDC, USDT, completely permissionless without the need for trusted 3rd parties. Their unique platform provides under-collateralized loans, compartmentalized deposits & loans, transparent dual-liquidation mechanisms to blockchain borrowers worldwide, 24% savings interest on deposits with 3-month commitment periods to lenders, and 4.28x more on your collateral in comparison to Compound, Aave, MakerDao for borrowers.
NFT Price Floor: A Coingecko-style data hub and analytics platform for NFT collectors
Founders: David J. Garcia, Nicolas (Nico) Lallement Tallo, Agustin (Agus) Perez Pala
NFT Price Floor indexes, curates, and sorts NFT data with a clean and intuitive UI so users can acquire the latest market insights, manage their digital asset portfolio, and make informed decisions about their next investment decision. NFT Price Floor believes that the price floor concept is highly relevant to the non-fungible token space, as revealed by growing initiatives and artistic collaborations that bridge the world of digital collectibles with crypto, art, and DeFi.
TokenChamp: An online arcade where your NFTs are the main characters in the games
Founders: Scott Balaban, Erik Stein, Sam Fuhrer, Christian Desrosiers
TokenChamp adds utility to NFTs by awarding cash prizes to players’ digital wallets for their participation in games and tournaments.
Black Sheep Gaming: A tech company focused on investments in blockchain games and the metaverse
Founders: Cyril Zilberbord, Nick Orlovsky
Black Sheep Gaming’s Web3 platform connects investors, revenue-generating digital assets and asset operators in the metaverse economy. Their guild includes over 500 top gamers who average a monthly salary of $1200, and thanks to high-quality team curation and development BSG’s’ portfolio averages gaming teams a win rate of over 85% – making them the industry’s highest performer in the category.
ExxaVerse: A cross-chain game built on the Unreal Engine
Founders: Joshua Margulies, William Schneider
ExxaVerse implements peer-to-peer wagering, AAA-quality graphics, and digital real estate. Their own digital currency, $EXXA, will be used for the in-game NFT marketplace and match entry fees. ExxaVerse players battle each other by selecting one of six gladiator classes, selecting and customizing weapons, and updating player stats including armor, health, strength, critical chance, range, and more to provide a truly immersive and unique gameplay experience.
OWC has taken part in the origin story of 1Inch.io and others – and expects great things from this talented new cohort.
As a part of this autumn’s open call, the accelerator will be hosting a Demo Day on October 19, 2022 which will allow the 4th cohort of startups participating in the program to showcase their ideas to hundreds of attendees alongside keynote speakers like CoinFund Founder Jake Brukhman and Greenfield One Partner Felix Machart.
This year, OWC’s demo day keynote will focus on crypto’s current macro outlook and latest innovations, with a presentation from an industry thought leader ahead of founder pitches.
This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company
