LabDAO Secures $3.6M Funding to Drive Decentralized Drug Discovery

LabDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to open-source drug discovery, has successfully raised $3.6 million in a funding round co-led by Inflection.xyz and Village Global. Notable participants in the funding round include North Island Ventures, Seed Club Ventures, ID Theory, Road Capital, Curve Labs, gmjp.lol, Molecule, Gnosis DAO, The LAO, Orange DAO, Beaker DAO, Spaceship DAO, and former Coinbase Chief Technology Officer Balaji Srinivasan, among others.

The funding announcement coincided with the launch of the PLEX software platform, which serves as a client enabling scientists to interact with the Lab exchange. Initially, PLEX supports computational services, with plans to integrate physical laboratory services in the future. LabDAO has containerized resource-intensive computational services to facilitate data processing. The generated output can then be linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), providing scientists with a means to demonstrate ownership of their data.

Niklas Rindtorff, co-founder and CEO of the Openlab Association, highlighted the significance of empowering scientists as creators within the NFT movement. He emphasized the collaborative nature of scientific research and the need for mechanisms that facilitate scientist-to-scientist collaboration. Recognizing this need, LabDAO identified the importance of creating an exchange where scientists can trade laboratory and computation services.

Openlab, a Swiss-based non-profit organization established by the LabDAO team, is currently focusing on building out the exchange and ensuring its utility for scientists both within and outside of academia. Rindtorff stated that LabDAO aims to have the exchange operational, allowing for governance and an active community, in preparation for the full implementation of the decentralized autonomous organization structure.

Decentralized science (DeSci) is a burgeoning sector within the crypto industry that has attracted a diverse range of investors. Earlier this year, VitaDAO, which focuses on health longevity, raised $4.1 million in a funding round that included the venture capital arm of pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer.

LabDAO's successful funding round and the development of the PLEX platform mark significant milestones in the advancement of decentralized drug discovery. As LabDAO continues to build its exchange and foster collaborations, it strives to revolutionize the way scientists collaborate and create within the scientific community.