Author: Arain, ChainCatcher
"DeSci" is not a new concept, but since November of this year, the term has suddenly gone viral within the community—especially during the November Devcon period, receiving strong support from Binance co-founder CZ and Ethereum founder Vitalik, making many feel it as a directional indicator. According to Dune data, the popularity of DeSci is continuously rising, becoming the leading narrative in recent times.
DeSci (Decentralized Science) is defined by the Ethereum Foundation as a movement to build equitable public infrastructure in the field of scientific research using the Web3 stack to fund, create, review, confirm, store, and disseminate scientific knowledge. Specifically, DeSci aims to address challenges in traditional scientific research, such as funding difficulties, insufficient data sharing, and low research transparency. Currently, DeSci projects addressing funding issues are the primary type in this track.
According to RootData, there are currently 32 projects in the DeSci track, such a large number makes it somewhat overwhelming to sift through, but having an outstanding Founder or Co-Founder is rare. It can be said that if we rank these DeSci entrepreneurs, a hierarchy of DeSci founders' disdain chain can be formed: highly vertical entrepreneurs > top elites from crypto/other industries > financial practitioners > other industry serial entrepreneurs.
First Tier
First-tier DeSci entrepreneurs not only have directly related resumes but are also energetic, holding key positions across multiple projects—however, such entrepreneurs are quite scarce, and among the DeSci projects favored by CZ and Vitalik, there are indeed first-tier entrepreneurs.
1. Tyler Golato
Cryptocurrency projects involved: Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol, PsyDAO (psychedelics), AthenaDAO (women's health), Pump.Science
In the above projects, Tyler Golato serves in roles such as initiator and advisor. Among them, the most noteworthy are the open-source drug development protocol Molecule and the community collective VitaDAO, which focuses on the commercialization of longevity therapies. Tyler Golato is the co-founder, chief scientist, and CEO of Molecule, and also a co-founder of VitaDAO.
In terms of resume, Tyler Golato is highly vertical in the field of life sciences. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (with a pre-med focus), studied in the Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology at the National Institutes of Health from 2015 to 2017, under Dr. David M. Wilson III and Dr. Vilhelm Bohr, focusing on repairing endogenous DNA damage.
He also worked in Robert Fine's lab at Columbia University, researching the chemotherapy resistance mechanisms of pancreatic cancer and developing novel treatment strategies for various cancers.
Awards and honors: He has received the National Institutes of Health Academy Fellows Program; became an Ignite finalist in 2016, etc.
Published representative research works: (DNA damage and the maintenance of nuclear genome integrity in aging and associated phenotypes) (Latest advances in aging research and drug discovery) (Role of DNA repair in carcinogenesis and cancer therapeutics), etc.
2. Alok Tayi
Cryptocurrency projects involved: Vibe Bio
Alok Tayi is an entrepreneur in the biopharmaceutical vertical, but his only known involvement in the cryptocurrency space, Vibe Bio, seems to be relatively unknown (with little news coverage). Interestingly, Vibe Bio has a remarkable lineup of investors, including Initialized Capital, which has invested in Avalanche and Coinbase, former Coinbase CTO and Andreessen Horowitz general partner Balaji Srinivasan, and Naval Ravikant, who invested in Uber, Twitter, and Ploymarket.
Returning to Alok's experiences, he graduated from Cornell University and obtained a Ph.D. in Materials Science from Northwestern University, completing postdoctoral work with George Whitesides. He has 15 years of research experience and 12 years of entrepreneurial experience, founding two pharmaceutical SaaS companies, PreScouter and TetraScience—these two companies together have hundreds of employees and over four hundred clients.
Alok founded Vibe Bio because his daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, as he personally understood that the biggest obstacle to developing treatments is not finding potential treatment methods but securing funding for them.
Alok has published articles in renowned media and journals such as (Forbes), (Nature), and (Nature Chemistry).
3. Simone Fantaccini
Cryptocurrency projects involved: SynapseDAO
This is a low-key but not simple DeSci entrepreneur, with Simone Fantaccini's role as the founder of SynapseDAO hidden in a guest invitation list for a biopharmaceutical forum.
In fact, Simone Fantaccini is still the Head of Medical Affairs and Chief Strategy Officer at Novartis, a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.
Simone Fantaccini is a fervent learner and activist, holding an MD from the University of Florence, a PhD in Philosophy from the Polytechnic University of Milan, and an MBA from MIP Milan. Most of his time is spent in biopharmaceutical work, focusing mainly on research related to multiple sclerosis and has participated in research on (the activation of Natalizumab in multiple sclerosis: systematic review and meta-analysis).
However, in 2023, he began researching cryptocurrency, first serving as a board member at Native Digital DNA (a project based on RFID Smart Dust DNA for physical asset chain certification solutions), and founded SynapseSciences, where he serves as co-founder and president in the same year.
This year, Synapse DAO, named after SynapseSciences, emerged, dedicated to funding R&D for neglected neurological diseases. In this DAO, Simone Fantaccini also brought in Scott Howell, former Chief Strategy Officer and MD of Novartis USA. This means that Synapse DAO has two Novartis connections; it is not a solo operation.
Continuing to work at Novartis and starting a business at Synapse DAO, Simone Fantaccini is actively socializing and serves as a member of the advisory committee at VitaDAO.
It proves that capable people always have rich experiences and are often multi-talented.
Second Tier
The resumes of second-tier entrepreneurs are relatively less vertical, but still absolutely brilliant, with many entrepreneurs' projects being highly anticipated by the market and frequently mentioned.
1. Brian Armstrong
Cryptocurrency projects involved: ResearchHub, Coinbase
Starting Coinbase from scratch, Brian Armstrong remains a co-founder of Coinbase, and his entrepreneurial actions in the DeSci field naturally draw attention.
Brian Armstrong graduated from Rice University with a dual bachelor's degree in Economics and Computer Science, as well as a master's degree in Computer Science. He worked as a developer at IBM and as a consultant at Deloitte in the early stages of his career.
In 2011, Brian Armstrong joined Airbnb as a software engineer, where he encountered issues related to payment systems and cross-border payments, which inspired him to establish cryptocurrency-related businesses.
In 2012, Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam, which has now become the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the US.
In the DeSci track, Brian Armstrong founded ResearchHub, a publishing-related DeSci project aimed at completely transforming the publishing model of traditional scientific journals by leveraging blockchain technology to create a new research communication platform, allowing researchers to more conveniently publish their findings on ResearchHub and unique incentives to stimulate the vitality and creativity of the research community.
Interestingly, after this, Brian Armstrong, Google Ventures partner Blake Byers, and Greg Johnson and Jacob Kimmel co-founded a project called NewLimit aimed at extending human lifespan. Currently, there is little information about NewLimit, and it is unclear whether this is another of Brian Armstrong's ventures in the DeSci field, but this marks the beginning of his exploration in the biopharmaceutical sector.
2. Paul Kohlhaas
Cryptocurrency projects involved: Molecule, BIO Protocol, Pump.Science
Paul Kohlhaas is a relatively active figure in the cryptocurrency space, involved in several cryptocurrency-related projects. Besides his tenure at the well-known blockchain company ConsenSys, it is worth mentioning that Paul Kohlhaas often appears in the same projects as first-tier Tyler Golato, which may suggest a good working relationship between the two.
Paul Kohlhaas graduated from the University of St. Gallen with a degree in Economics and Politics. Before entering the cryptocurrency field, he was a member of the private equity business group at the Frankfurt office of White & Case LLP, specializing in private equity transactions and domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, providing consulting in private equity, M&A, and corporate law.
After entering the cryptocurrency field, he worked for a while at ConsenSys and uPort before starting his entrepreneurial career.
Paul Kohlhaas co-founded Molecule with Tyler Golato and later co-created BIO Protocol.
Pump.Science is a meme token platform launched by Molecule based on Solana, allowing users to participate in drug effect predictions and experimental data trading through trading meme tokens representing drugs.
3. Laura Minquini
Cryptocurrency projects involved: VitaDAO, AthenaDAO
Laura Minquini can be said to represent successful individuals from other fields. She is a female entrepreneur who has accumulated some entrepreneurial experience in the fields of longevity and women's health.
Laura Minquini graduated from York University in Canada with a bachelor's degree in linguistics, but her career began in the fashion industry, specializing in brand promotion and business development. She launched the first tech accessory product focused on fashion, 'case scenario,' achieving global premium distribution and millions in sales within a year, and became a third-party supplier for Apple. She has also collaborated with companies like Louis Vuitton, Apple, and Pantone.
In 2019, Laura Minquini founded MYKIGAI, a platform for discovering and recommending longevity, marking the beginning of her exploration in the health industry.
After that, she joined VitaDAO as a contributor and met Tyler Golato, co-founding a new decentralized collective, AthenaDAO, to fund women's health research (Tyler Golato serves as an advisor at AthenaDAO).
As a cross-disciplinary individual entering the DeSci space, Ms. Laura Minquini can be said to be 'clinging to the right thigh,' but perhaps it is due to her interest in the broad field of health? With a bit more activity and effort, Laura Minquini is expected to rise to the first tier.
4. Vincent Weisser
Projects involved: PrimeIntellect, Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol
Vincent Weisser is primarily a technician. He does not have a very prominent resume, but he has participated in three well-known DeSci projects: Molecule, VitaDAO, and BIO Protocol, and has collaborated with Paul Kohlhaas and Tyler Golato.
Vincent is also one of the co-founders of Vita DAO and provides consulting for Vita DAO. He serves as an advisor at Molecule.
His latest activity is the creation of a decentralized artificial intelligence platform, Prime Intellect, for which he is the founder and CEO. The platform aims to monetize computation and intelligence, providing developers with more affordable distributed computing and a sustainable business model for open-source models.
Perhaps Vincent Weisser does not aspire to DeSci, and Prime Intellect just announced the completion of a $5.5 million seed round this year—perhaps one day when he looks back, he may slide to the third or even fourth tier of the DeSci track.
Conclusion
Compared to first-tier and second-tier DeSci entrepreneurs, the backgrounds of third-tier and fourth-tier founders appear ordinary. For example, in the popular hair loss treatment project HairDAO, its founder Andrew Verbinnen has worked in commercial real estate investment for many years and, due to his struggles with hair loss and interest in cryptocurrency, conceived the idea of founding HairDAO. Similarly, for data-related GenomesDAO, its founder Aldo de Pape is the founder and CEO of the cloud learning platform TeachPitch and previously worked in business development in the publishing industry.
These entrepreneurs all have commendable work experiences, but as the DeSci track has developed, it has attracted elites from vertical fields, forming a brutal 'despising chain.' Based on the characteristics of projects favored by investors, founders with directly relevant experience are more favored: it is reasonable to believe that they have a higher success rate in this track.