Author: Arain, ChainCatcher

"DeSci" is not a new concept, but since November this year, the term has suddenly gone viral in the community—especially during the Devcon in November, where it was strongly endorsed by Binance co-founder CZ and Ethereum founder Vitalik, making many feel the shift in trends. According to Dune data, the popularity of DeSci continues to rise, becoming the leading narrative in recent times.

DeSci (Decentralized Science) is a movement aimed at establishing fair public infrastructure in the field of scientific research using the Web3 stack to fund, create, review, confirm, store, and disseminate scientific knowledge, as defined by the Ethereum Foundation. Specifically, DeSci aims to address challenges in traditional scientific research, such as funding difficulties, insufficient data sharing, and low research transparency. Currently, DeSci projects focused on solving funding issues are the main type in this sector.

According to RootData, there are currently as many as 32 projects in the DeSci space, making it somewhat overwhelming to sift through them. However, projects with an outstanding founder or co-founder are rare. If we were to rank these DeSci entrepreneurs, it would form a hierarchy of disdain among DeSci founders: highly vertical entrepreneurs > top elites from crypto/other industries > finance professionals > serial entrepreneurs from other industries.

First Tier

First-tier DeSci entrepreneurs not only have directly relevant backgrounds but are also energetic, holding key positions across multiple projects—however, such entrepreneurs are quite rare. Among the DeSci projects endorsed by CZ and Vitalik, there are first-tier entrepreneurs.

1. Tyler Golato

Involved crypto projects: Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol, PsyDAO (psychedelics), AthenaDAO (women's health), Pump.Science

In the above projects, Tyler Golato serves as a founder, advisor, and other roles. Notably, he is the co-founder, chief scientist, and CEO of the open-source drug development protocol Molecule and the community collective VitaDAO, which focuses on the commercialization of longevity therapies.

In terms of background, Tyler Golato is highly vertical in the field of biosciences. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (with a pre-med focus) and studied at the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging - Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology from 2015 to 2017, under the mentorship of 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 mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer and developing novel treatment strategies for various cancers.

Awards and honors: He was a recipient of the NIH Academy Fellows Program and became a finalist in Ignite 2016, among others.

Published research highlights: "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

Involved crypto project: Vibe Bio

Alok Tayi is an entrepreneur in the biopharmaceutical vertical, but currently, the only known crypto project he is involved in, Vibe Bio, seems to be relatively unknown (with little media coverage). Interestingly, Vibe Bio has a notable investment lineup, including Initialized Capital, which has invested in Avalanche and Coinbase, and investors like former Coinbase CTO and Andreessen Horowitz general partner Balaji Srinivasan, and Naval Ravikant, who has invested in Uber, Twitter, and Ploymarket.

Returning to Alok's background, 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, having founded two pharmaceutical SaaS companies, PreScouter and TetraScience—both companies collectively employ hundreds and have over four hundred clients.

Alok founded Vibe Bio after his daughter was diagnosed with a rare disease, as he personally realized that the biggest barrier to developing treatments is not finding potential therapies but securing funding for them.

Alok has published articles in renowned media and journals such as Forbes, Nature, and Nature Chemistry.

3. Simone Fantaccini

Involved crypto project: SynapseDAO

This is a low-profile but significant DeSci entrepreneur, with information about Simone Fantaccini 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 an enthusiastic learner, holding an MD 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 his time is spent working on and promoting biopharmaceutical-related projects, primarily focusing on research related to multiple sclerosis, and he has participated in studies such as "Activation of Natalizumab in Multiple Sclerosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis."

However, in 2023, he began researching cryptocurrency, first serving as a board member at Native Digital DNA (a project providing on-chain certification solutions for physical assets based on RFID Smart Dust DNA), and later that year, he founded SynapseSciences, where he serves as co-founder and president.

This year, Synapse DAO, named after SynapseSciences, emerged, aiming to fund research and development for neglected neurological diseases. In this DAO, Simone Fantaccini also brought in Scott Howell, former chief strategy officer and MD at Novartis USA. This means that Synapse DAO has two Novartis alumni, indicating that he is not working alone.

Continuing to work at Novartis while starting up Synapse DAO, Simone Fantaccini is actively networking and serves as a member of the advisory board at VitaDAO.

It proves that capable individuals often have abundant experiences and are multi-faceted.

Second Tier

The resumes of second-tier entrepreneurs are relatively less vertical but still impressive, with many entrepreneurs' projects being highly anticipated by the market and frequently mentioned.

1. Brian Armstrong

Involved crypto projects: ResearchHub, Coinbase

Starting from scratch to establish Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, who is still a co-founder of Coinbase, naturally attracts attention for his entrepreneurial actions in the DeSci field.

Brian Armstrong graduated from Rice University with dual bachelor's degrees in Economics and Computer Science, as well as a master's degree in Computer Science. He initially 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, inspiring him to create a cryptocurrency-related business.

In 2012, Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase with Fred Ehrsam, which has now become the largest cryptocurrency exchange platform in the United States.

In the DeSci space, Brian Armstrong founded ResearchHub, a publishing-oriented DeSci project aimed at completely transforming the traditional publishing model of scientific journals. Utilizing blockchain technology, it aims to build a new research communication platform that allows researchers to publish their findings more conveniently on ResearchHub and stimulates the vitality and creativity of the research community through unique incentives.

Interestingly, after this, Brian Armstrong, Google Ventures partner Blake Byers, along with Greg Johnson and Jacob Kimmel, co-founded a longevity project called NewLimit. Currently, there is little information about NewLimit, and it is unclear whether this is another move by Brian Armstrong in the DeSci field, but it marks the beginning of his exploration journey in the biopharmaceutical sector.

2. Paul Kohlhaas

Involved crypto projects: Molecule, BIO Protocol, Pump.Science

Paul Kohlhaas is a relatively active figure in the crypto space, participating in multiple crypto-related projects. Aside from his experience working at the well-known blockchain company ConsenSys, it is worth mentioning that Paul Kohlhaas often appears in the same projects as first-tier entrepreneur 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 crypto field, he was a member of the private equity practice 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 crypto field, he worked for a time at ConsenSys and uPort before embarking on his entrepreneurial career.

Paul Kohlhaas first co-founded Molecule with Tyler Golato, and then they jointly created BIO Protocol.

Pump.Science is a meme coin platform launched by Molecule based on Solana, allowing users to participate in drug effect predictions and experimental data trading through trading meme coins representing drugs.

3. Laura Minquini

Involved crypto projects: VitaDAO, AthenaDAO

Laura Minquini can be seen as a representative of successful individuals from other fields. She is a female entrepreneur who has accumulated some entrepreneurial experience in the areas 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, where she excelled in brand promotion and business development. She launched the first tech accessory product focused on fashion, "case scenario," achieving global premium distribution and millions of dollars 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 solutions, thus beginning her exploration into the health industry.

Subsequently, she joined VitaDAO as a contributor, where she met Tyler Golato and co-founded a new decentralized collective, AthenaDAO, to fund women's health research and development (Tyler Golato serves as an advisor in AthenaDAO).

As a cross-industry figure entering the DeSci space, Laura Minquini can be said to have "latched onto" the right connections, but perhaps it is also due to her interest in the broad field of health? With a bit more activity and effort, Laura Minquini is likely to rise to the first tier.

4. Vincent Weisser

Involved projects: PrimeIntellect, Molecule, VitaDAO, BIO Protocol

Vincent Weisser is primarily a technical person. He does not have a particularly outstanding resume, but he has participated in three well-known DeSci projects: Molecule, VitaDAO, and BIO Protocol, collaborating with Paul Kohlhaas and Tyler Golato.

Vincent is also one of the co-founders of VitaDAO and provides consulting for it. In Molecule, he serves as an advisor.

His latest development is the creation of a decentralized artificial intelligence platform called Prime Intellect, where he serves as founder and CEO. The platform aims to commoditize computing and intelligence, providing developers with more affordable distributed computing and sustainable business models for open-source models.

Perhaps Vincent Weisser is not focused on DeSci, and Prime Intellect just announced the completion of a $5.5 million seed round this year—maybe one day, looking back, he might slide down to the third or even fourth tier in the DeSci space.

Conclusion

Compared to first-tier and second-tier DeSci entrepreneurs, the founders in the third and fourth tiers have more ordinary resumes. For example, the relatively popular hair loss treatment project HairDAO has a founder, Andrew Verbinnen, who has worked for many years in investment in the commercial real estate industry. Troubled by hair loss and having developed an interest in cryptocurrency, he 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 mainly in business development in the publishing industry.

These entrepreneurs all have commendable work experiences, but as the DeSci space has developed, it has attracted a continuous influx of elites from vertical fields, forming a harsh "disdain chain." From the characteristics of projects favored by investors, founders with directly relevant experience are more favored: there is reason to believe that they have a higher success rate in this field.

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