Cypher Capital, a venture capital firm located in the UAE, recently announced setting up an ecosystem fund together with Ocean Protocol according to which it will be allocating $5 million to invest in Ocean Protocol projects. Ocean Protocol is a platform for data exchange and monetization that builds on Ethereum and other EVM-compatible blockchains.
Cypher Capital’s investment team stated that they will examine and appraise Ocean Protocol’s proposals, of which decisions will be then taken. The $5 million investment will be spread out across 20 projects over 24 months timeframe or two-three investments of a minimum of a quarter-million each per quarter if a project is highly recommended by the Ocean Protocol team.
This open-source fund protocol will facilitate the exchange and monetization of data and data-based services, empowering general people to procure and share data securely while preserving privacy. Ocean Protocol makes utilizes the “datatokens” to offer businesses and individuals access to data, where tokens can be redeemed to access data.
Ocean Protocol further added that it aims to create a new Data Economy powered by a dynamic group of builders and start-ups. So far, over 150 projects have been funded via OceanDAO and Shipyard programs to encourage and support grassroots innovation. Projects like Algovera, DataUnion, Data Whale, DataX, Felt, Ocean Pearl, Swash, and Transport Genie are some of the many funded initiatives that are now positioned as catalysts for Ocean’s wide-scale adoption.
Bijan Alizadeh, Co-Founder, and Partner of Cypher Capital stated, “We are so excited to be investing in projects together with Ocean Protocol. We will support data marketplaces backed by top-tier corporations that are integrating Ocean Protocol into their data-driven business models and building applications tailored for data services through the Ocean Protocol platform.”
Ocean Protocol Founder Bruce Pon commented: “Cypher Capital’s commitment to invest in the Ocean Protocol ecosystem is a recognition of the potential of a new Data Economy and Ocean’s leading role in the space. The Ocean ecosystem has generated a pipeline of promising projects which are nearing viability for seed funding. Meanwhile, Cypher Capital brings deep connections with the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia ecosystem that projects can leverage to springboard forward. With Dubai accelerating its push to be the node for global crypto-innovation, Cypher Capital’s extensive resources, and the innovation emanating from the Ocean community, we’re excited to see the next wave of adoption focused on data.”
