In a significant step forward for open-source drug discovery, LabDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), has secured $3.6 million in a funding round. This round was co-led by Inflection.xyz and Village Global, with notable participants such as North Island Ventures, Seed Club Ventures, and more.
Coinciding with this announcement, LabDAO launched its PLEX software platform. PLEX is a unique client that empowers scientists to interact with the Lab exchange that only supports computational services currently. However, there are plans to incorporate physical laboratory services in the future.
A standout feature of LabDAO is its innovative approach to data ownership. The resulting output from the containerized computations can be linked to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), allowing scientists to prove ownership of their data.
Niklas Rindtorff, the co-founder and CEO of the Openlab Association, emphasized this in an interview with CoinDesk: “Scientists are also creators… They should also be able to create artwork and share that with their followers.” He highlighted the need for collaboration mechanisms and the significance of an exchange where scientists can trade laboratory and computation services.
As the field of decentralized science (DeSci) grows, attracting a wide range of investors, LabDAO is carving out its space. Earlier this year, health longevity-focused VitaDAO raised $4.1 million in a funding round that included Pfizer’s venture capital arm. LabDAO aims to create a more accessible scientific research and discovery landscape through blockchain technology, facilitating global collaboration and secure data ownership for scientists.
LabDAO’s work marks an important step in the evolution of scientific research, demonstrating how blockchain technology can be leveraged to optimize resource sharing, collaboration, and ownership in the scientific community. With its funding and ongoing development of the PLEX software platform, LabDAO is setting the stage for a future where scientific discovery is decentralized and more accessible to all.
Ultimately, LabDAO’s vision is to democratize science and empower the global scientific community. By integrating blockchain technology and the DAO structure, they are creating an innovative framework that could revolutionize how scientific research is conducted and shared. It will be fascinating to watch the evolution and growth of LabDAO as they continue to build on this exciting start.
