Prepared by アレクサンダー.eth
Ubiquity Research Ltd.
As we continue to forge ahead in 2024, I'm excited to share the latest updates and our strategic vision at Ubiquity.
Strategic Focus and Product Development
Ubiquity Dollar and DevPool Integration
The Ubiquity Dollar v2 was deployed in May but isn’t actively marketed yet. Our primary focus is integrating the stablecoin with DevPool, our distributed organization task management system. DevPool uses a GitHub bot to reward contributions for closing issues as completed, currently settling payments in WXDAI. We plan to allow partners to settle in any ERC-20 token, offering services at cost if settled in Ubiquity Dollar, monetizing on the back end.
Advancements in the DevPool System
We are nearing version two of the DevPool system, featuring a kernel plug-in architecture with a lean core responsible for payment permits and listening to GitHub webhook events. This system will allow developers to easily create and extend capabilities via an SDK. Examples of plug-ins include task pricing algorithms, reward calculations, and LLMs for evaluating contribution relevance. We are considering branding plug-ins as “agents” aligning with trends in AI and crypto projects.
Key Collaborations and Partnerships
MakerDAO Pilot Program
We are working towards partnering with MakerDAO for a pilot program with DevPool, redirected to the Powerhouse subDAO responsible for MakerDAO DAO operations. After spending considerable time with the Powerhouse team and collaboratively creating a prototype at ETHBerlin, we are optimistic about further collaboration. Our main focus is establishing a solid pilot program with a prestigious DAO, such as MakerDAO.
Conversations with Yearn Finance and Gnosis Pay
We have been offered introductions to key people at Yearn Finance, another engineering-focused DAO that could be a good fit for a pilot partner. Additionally, we engaged in conversations with Gnosis Pay for deeper integration of cash payouts. Despite previous slow progress, meeting the team at DappCon led to a follow-up for potential collaboration. Our vision is to enable distributed teams, both in and outside of crypto, to use our system to manage development teams. We have a prototype for minting prepaid MasterCard and Visa cards up to $1,000 with no KYC, allowing normal developers to work in GitHub and receive rewards as cash added to digital wallets, like Apple Pay, for ease of use in real world spending.
Series A Fundraising
Fundraising Strategy and Progress
We have started our Series A fundraising, initially planned for between March and September 2024, slightly behind schedule due to personal reasons. Our multifaceted campaign includes a lead generation team focusing on email and LinkedIn outbound efforts. We are targeting funds with historical investments in AI, crypto, and developer tooling. Practicing pitches with less strategically aligned capital first, we aim to refine our messaging and pitch materials, including the white paper and pitch deck. Once ready, we plan to aggressively reach out to top funds like M12 Ventures and Gnosis Ventures, leveraging interest from initial meetings to drive commitments.
Our target for the Series A is to sell another 10% at a valuation between $100M and $200M. We plan to start at a valuation of $150M with less strategically aligned capital partners, ramping up to $200M to incentivize faster closings. For strategically aligned partners, we'll start at $100M and use the same strategy up to $150M. We anticipate our final valuation will be slightly below $150M, aiming to have mostly strategically aligned capital by the time we close our round. While we aim for a purely token raise, we are open to equity deals with non crypto native partners like Microsoft if needed.
At the time of writing, our latest materials related to the raise are Pitchdeck v0.5 and Whitepaper v0.5.
Some partners on our wishlist include the following; please let us know if introductions are possible:
- M12 for GitHub
- Gnosis Venture Capital
- OpenAI Startup Fund
- Coinbase Ventures
- Sequoia
- a16z Crypto
- Dragonfly Capital Partners
- Paradigm
- Union Square Ventures
- ConsenSys Ventures
Operational Efficiency and Treasury Management
Operational Enhancements
We continue to enhance operational efficiencies, with prototypes for the DevPool bot to observe contributions across various platforms like Google Drive and Telegram. This will allow us to associate contributor identities for a holistic view and establish a dynamic compensation system for seamless management of remote organizations.
Financial Health and Runway
Our treasury remains robust, with a current status of approximately $2.1M USD. We are currently primarily allocated to ETH, with plans to slowly exit after September, at or around $6K/ETH, and with weakness on the upside in the markets. Our burn rate is approximately $45k/month, which would yield approximately a four-year runway.
Closing Remarks
Every step we take, whether in product development, partnerships, or operational innovations, is a stride towards enhancing the value and utility of the Ubiquity Dollar. Your support and belief in our vision are crucial as we continue to build and grow.
Should you have any suggestions, feedback, or ideas, particularly concerning our Series A, product integrations, or operational strategies, we warmly welcome your insights.
Together, we are not just creating a stablecoin; we are forging a new way to operate organizations in the future.
Warm regards,
アレクサンダー.eth