Tapestry Lands $5.75M to Build the Future of Social on Solana Blockchain
Tapestry, a social graph protocol built on the Solana blockchain, has secured $5.75 million in Series A funding to further its mission of bringing easy-to-integrate social features to blockchain applications. The funding round, co-led by Union Square Ventures and Fabric Ventures, highlights the growing interest in decentralized social infrastructure and Solana's potential as a hub for such innovation.
From Digital Art to Decentralized Social: Tapestry's Evolution
The funding round, which concluded in August after starting last May, was structured as priced equity with token warrants. It valued Tapestry's equity at $35 million and its token network at $70 million, according to CEO David Gabeau. The deal also brings notable figures to Tapestry's board, including Nick Grossman from Union Square Ventures, Anil Hansjee from Fabric Ventures, and Peter Boyce from Stellation Capital, all firms that participated in the round.
Tapestry's total funding now stands at $12.5 million, including a previously undisclosed $2 million seed extension round in August 2022 and an earlier $4 million seed round in January 2022 when the project was known as Primitives, a digital art marketplace.
Solana's Speed Fuels Tapestry's Social Vision
Unlike some of its competitors in the Ethereum ecosystem, such as Farcaster and Lens, Tapestry leverages Solana's unique capabilities. "Unlike Farcaster and Lens, which operate on hubs or Layer 2 networks, Tapestry leverages Solana's state compression on the Layer 1," Gabeau explained. This allows for significantly lower transaction costs, making it feasible to integrate social features directly onto the blockchain.
The Future of Social: An App Renaissance on the Horizon
Tapestry's vision extends beyond simply providing social features. The protocol aims to foster a new wave of applications, empowered by the ease of creation offered by emerging AI tools. "We are on the verge of an app renaissance," Gabeau stated, envisioning a future where independent developers can easily connect their applications to Tapestry's social infrastructure.
Freemium Model and Future Plans
The company operates on a freemium model, offering developers free access with charges for higher API usage. Future plans include a potential small protocol fee for reading and writing data, which could be shared with the network.
Can Tapestry Build the Next-Gen Social Network?
With its successful Series A funding and a growing list of partners, Tapestry is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing demand for decentralized social infrastructure. As the project expands to other blockchain ecosystems and continues to build out its platform, it will be interesting to see how it shapes the future of social interaction on the blockchain.