The funding round attracted participation from several prominent cryptocurrency investment firms, including CMT Digital, Castle Island Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, and ParaFi. This influx of capital will be used to further develop Andrena’s decentralized autonomous wireless network (DAWN) and expand its reach.

A Bold Vision for Decentralized Internet

Andrena envisions a world where individuals and communities can create and own their internet infrastructure. By leveraging solar energy and blockchain technology, the company aims to provide affordable and reliable internet access to underserved regions.

“We’re building the equivalent of solar panels for the internet,” said Neil Chatterjee, co-founder of Andrena. “People will be able to create their own networks and sell excess capacity back into the system.”

Strong Investor Interest

The company initially set a target of $5 million for the funding round but exceeded expectations by a significant margin. “We received overwhelming interest from investors,” Chatterjee said. “This funding will enable us to accelerate our development and expand our operations.”

Andrena has been providing internet services in 10 US states since 2019 and has been developing its DAWN system since late 2021. While a specific timeline for the token launch has not been announced, the company plans to leverage blockchain technology to incentivize network participation and governance.

The post Andrena Raises $18M for Solana-Based Decentralized Internet Project appeared first on Coin Engineer.

FirstMate: NFT Partnership and Marketplace Beta Launch

FirstMate also revealed a partnership with another venture in the NFT space, Manifold. Additionally, they announced the beta launch of their marketplace website.

Jacob Frantz, the CEO of the initiative, stated in a release, “Today, creators, artists, and platforms owe it to everyone who has failed to create, sustain, or grow one-dimensional markets that fail to provide the direct connection that creators and collectors have told us they want and deserve. They want it, and they don’t just carry their interests in their hearts.”

According to the description, FirstMate‘s focus is on creators rather than markets, a priority also shared by Dragonfly. This allows artists to bring their works and pieces together on a single platform, regardless of where they were created. It also places a priority on copyright.

Founded in 2022 by former employees of Instagram and Walmart, FirstMate, alongside Dragonfly, has so far opened marketplaces for companies like Bankless, FELT Zine, Sound.xyz, and others. These marketplaces currently support over a thousand collections spanning everything from productive art to luxury fashion.

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Yuga Labs had planned to sever ties with OpenSea in light of the NFT platform’s move towards a licensed optional model.

However, OpenSea investor Mark Cuban expressed concerns that stricter copyright regulations would be even worse and detrimental to the industry.

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The post FirstMate Secures $3.75 Million Investment Led by DragonFly appeared first on Coin Engineer.