Written by: Arain, ChainCatcher
'DeSci' is not a new concept, but since November of this year, this term has suddenly gone viral in the circle—especially during the Devcon in November, it was strongly promoted by Binance co-founder CZ and Ethereum founder Vitalik, causing many to feel the shift. According to Dune data, the popularity of DeSci continues to rise, becoming the leading narrative in recent times.
DeSci (Decentralized Science) is a movement that aims to build a fair public infrastructure in the field of scientific research using the Web3 stack to fund, create, review, validate, store, and disseminate scientific knowledge, according to the definition by the Ethereum Foundation. Specifically, DeSci aims to solve challenges in traditional scientific research, such as funding difficulties, lack of data sharing, and low research transparency. Currently, projects addressing funding issues are the primary type in this track.
According to RootData, there are currently as many as 32 projects in the DeSci track, such a large number makes it somewhat difficult to filter, but 'having' an outstanding Founder or Co-Founder is rare. It can be said that if these DeSci track entrepreneurs are ranked, a hierarchy can form: highly vertical entrepreneurs > top elites from crypto/other industries > finance practitioners > serial entrepreneurs from other industries.
First Tier
First-tier DeSci entrepreneurs not only have directly relevant resumes but are also energetic, holding key positions across multiple projects—however, such entrepreneurs are extremely rare. The DeSci projects favored by CZ and Vitalik include first-tier entrepreneurs.
1. Tyler Golato
Emerging Crypto Projects: Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol, PsyDAO (psychedelics), AthenaDAO (women's health), Pump.Science
In the aforementioned projects, Tyler Golato serves as initiator, advisor, and other roles. Among them, the most noteworthy are the open-source drug development protocol Molecule and the community collective VitaDAO focused on commercializing longevity therapies, where 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 biological sciences. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (with a pre-med focus) and studied at the National Institutes of Health's Molecular Gerontology Laboratory from 2015 to 2017, under the guidance of Dr. David M. Wilson III and Dr. Vilhelm Bohr, focusing on the repair of endogenous DNA damage.
He also worked at Columbia University's Robert Fine Laboratory, researching pancreatic cancer chemotherapy resistance mechanisms and developing novel treatment strategies for various cancers.
Awards and Honors: Formerly a NIH Academy Fellows Program participant; became an Ignite finalist in 2016, etc.
Published research representative 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
Emerging Crypto Projects: Vibe Bio
Alok Tayi is an entrepreneur in the vertical field of biomedicine, but currently, the only known crypto project he is involved in, Vibe Bio, seems to be little known (with few news reports). Interestingly, Vibe Bio's investment lineup is quite impressive, such as Initialized Capital, which has invested in Avalanche and Coinbase, as well as Balaji Srinivasan, former CTO of Coinbase and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and Naval Ravikant, who has invested in Uber, Twitter, and Ploymarket, all of whom are its investors.
Returning to Alok's own experience, Alok 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 companies collectively have hundreds of employees and over 400 clients.
Alok founded Vibe Bio after his daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, as he personally realized that the biggest obstacle to developing treatments is not finding potential methods, but funding them.
Alok has published articles in prominent media and journals such as Forbes, Nature, and Nature Chemistry.
3. Simone Fantaccini
Emerging Crypto Projects: SynapseDAO
This is a low-key yet not simple DeSci track entrepreneur, hidden in a guest invitation list for a biopharmaceutical forum is the information that Simone Fantaccini is the founder of SynapseDAO.
In fact, to this day, Simone Fantaccini is still the Medical Affairs Director and Chief Strategy Officer at the Swiss multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Novartis.
Simone Fantaccini is an enthusiastic learner. He holds a Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Florence, a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the Polytechnic University of Milan, and an MBA from MIP Politecnico di Milano. Most of the time, Simone Fantaccini is engaged in advancing work related to biomedicine and primarily focuses on research related to multiple sclerosis. He has participated in research work such as (Activation of that monoclonal antibody in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis).
However, in 2023, he began researching cryptocurrencies, first serving as a board member at Native Digital DNA (a project based on RFID Smart Dust DNA for physical asset chain certification), and founded Synapse Sciences the same year, serving as its co-founder and president.
This year, Synapse DAO, which shares its name with Synapse Sciences, has appeared. Synapse DAO is dedicated to providing funding for research and development of neglected neurological diseases. In this DAO, Simone Fantaccini also brought in Scott Howell, former Chief Strategy Officer and Medical Doctor at Novartis. This means that Synapse DAO has two Novartis people; he is not acting alone.
Continuing to work at Novartis Pharmaceuticals and founding Synapse DAO, Simone Fantaccini is actively networking, serving as a member of the advisory committee at VitaDAO.
It turns out that capable people always have rich experiences and are often slash workers.
Second Tier
The resumes of second-tier entrepreneurs are relatively less vertical, but they are definitely dazzling, and many entrepreneurs' projects are highly anticipated by the market and are often mentioned.
1. Brian Armstrong
Emerging Crypto Projects: ResearchHub, Coinbase
Starting from scratch to establish Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, still a co-founder of Coinbase, naturally attracts attention in the DeSci field.
Brian Armstrong graduated from Rice University with a dual Bachelor's degree in Economics and Computer Science and a Master's degree in Computer Science. He previously worked as a developer at IBM and as a consultant at Deloitte.
In 2011, Brian Armstrong joined Airbnb as a software engineer, during which he encountered issues related to payment systems and cross-border payments, which inspired him to establish cryptocurrency-related enterprises.
In 2012, Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam, which has now become the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the United States.
In the DeSci track, Brian Armstrong founded ResearchHub, a publishing-related DeSci project aimed at fundamentally transforming the publication model of traditional scientific journals, using blockchain technology to build a new scientific communication platform, allowing researchers to publish their research results more conveniently on ResearchHub, and uniquely incentivizing the vitality and creativity of the research community.
Interestingly, afterward, Brian Armstrong, Google Ventures partner Blake Byers, and Greg Johnson, Jacob Kimmel co-founded a project to extend human life, NewLimit. Currently, little information is available about NewLimit, and it is unclear whether this is another layout by Brian Armstrong in the DeSci field, but it opens the door for his exploration in the biopharmaceutical field.
2. Paul Kohlhaas
Emerging Crypto Projects: Molecule, BIO Protocol, Pump.Science
Paul Kohlhaas is a relatively active figure in the crypto field and has participated in multiple crypto-related projects. In addition to his experience working at the well-known blockchain company ConsenSys, it is worth mentioning that Paul Kohlhaas often appears in the same project with first-tier Tyler Golato, which may suggest they have good collaboration.
Paul Kohlhaas graduated from the University of St. Gallen with a degree in economics and politics. Before entering the crypto field, he was a member of the private equity business group at the Frankfurt office of White & Case LLP, specializing in private equity transactions as well as domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, providing consulting in private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate law.
After entering the crypto field, he worked for a while at ConsenSys and uPort, then began his entrepreneurial career.
Paul Kohlhaas first co-founded Molecule with Tyler Golato, and later co-created BIO Protocol.
Pump.Science is a meme coin platform launched by Molecule based on Solana, allowing users to participate in predicting drug effects and trading experimental data through trading meme coins representing drugs.
3. Laura Minquini
Emerging Crypto Projects: VitaDAO, AthenaDAO
Laura Minquini can be said to represent successful figures 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 started in the fashion industry, where she excelled in brand promotion and business development. She launched the first technology accessory product focused on fashion, 'case scenario,' achieving global premium distribution and millions in sales within a year, becoming Apple's third-party supplier. She has also collaborated with companies like Louis Vuitton, Apple, and Pantone.
In 2019, Laura Minquini founded a platform for discovering and recommending longevity called MYKIGAI, thus starting her exploration into the health industry.
After that, she joined VitaDAO as a contributor and met Tyler Golato, founding a new decentralized collective AthenaDAO to fund women's health research and development (Tyler Golato serves as an advisor in AthenaDAO).
As a crossover figure entering the DeSci track, Ms. Laura Minquini can be said to have 'clung to' a powerful ally, but perhaps it is also due to her interest in the broad field of health? If she becomes a bit more active and works a bit harder, Laura Minquini is expected to rise to the first tier.
4. Vincent Weisser
Participating Projects: PrimeIntellect, Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol
Vincent Weisser is primarily a technician. He does not have a particularly outstanding 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. In Molecule, he serves as an advisor.
His latest update is the creation of the decentralized artificial intelligence platform Prime Intellect, for which he is the founder and CEO. This platform aims to commercialize computing and intelligence, providing developers with more affordable distributed computing and a sustainable business model for open source models.
Perhaps Vincent Weisser is not focused on DeSci, and Prime Intellect just announced completion of a $5.5 million seed round financing this year—perhaps one day looking back, he might slide into the third or even fourth tier of the DeSci track.
Conclusion
Compared to first-tier and second-tier DeSci entrepreneurs, the founders of the third and fourth tiers have more ordinary backgrounds. Taking the relatively popular hair loss treatment project HairDAO as an example, its founder Andrew Verbinnen has worked in investment in the commercial real estate industry for many years. Due to his struggles with hair loss and his interest in cryptocurrency, he came up with the idea of founding HairDAO. Another example is GenomesDAO, whose founder Aldo de Pape is the founder and CEO of the cloud learning platform TeachPitch, and previously worked primarily in business development in the publishing industry.
These entrepreneurs all have notable work experiences, but the DeSci track has developed to the point where it has attracted elites from vertical fields continuously, forming a cruel 'hierarchy of disdain.' From 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.
