Cypher Capital, a venture capital firm located in the UAE, today announced that it has set 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. Ocean Protocol is available on WazirX, Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Exchange.
The open-source protocol facilitates the exchange and monetization of data and data-based services, allowing people to buy and share information securely while preserving privacy, it said in a statement.
Ocean Protocol makes use of “datatokens” to give businesses and individuals access to data, where tokens can be redeemed to access information.
Ocean Protocol aims to build a new Data Economy powered by a dynamic group of builders and startups. 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.
Created by an Indian Founder, Manan Patel, DataX aims to further the growth of Ocean ecosystem through innovative DeFi tooling for datasets.
Bijan Alizadeh, Co-Founder and Partner of Cypher Capital, stated, “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.”
Cypher Capital’s investment team will review and evaluate Ocean Protocol's proposals, off of which decisions will be made. The $5 million investment will be spread out across 20 projects over 24 months, or two or three investments of a minimum of a quarter-million each per quarter if a project is highly recommended by the Ocean Protocol team.
Vineet Budki, Managing Partner and CEO of Cypher Capital said, "We look forward to the enhanced role of data and AI in solving global issues through equal opportunities to access and harness data."
Manan Patel, Founder, DataX added, “Ocean Protocol has a growing ecosystem of interesting projects ready to disrupt the Data/AI industry. Being initially funded by OceanDAO and as an integral part of Ocean’s ecosystem, DataX is at the forefront to lead the Data Ownership and Data Finance narrative and is well-positioned to help scale Ocean’s efforts in unlocking the true value of data and promoting data privacy and ownership."
Ocean Protocol Founder Bruce Pon commented: “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.”
Ocean Protocol’s marketplace technology allows data to be published, discovered, and consumed in a secure, privacy-preserving manner. Ocean helps to give data owners the comfort and safety to share and monetize data without losing control.
Cypher Capital is building a 10,000 sq. ft. hub for crypto startups which is set to open in Q4 2022 in Jumeirah Beach Residence, Dubai.
