Lens Protocol Raises $15 Million to Augment Decentralized Social Media – Next Twitter Competitor?

Aave’s Lens Protocol, a social layer for web3, has raised $15 million in funding to develop decentralized blockchain-backed social media. 

According to a June 8 blog post, IDEO CoLab Ventures led the funding round alongside other VCs, such as General Catalyst, Variant, Blockchain Capital, and Palm Tree. 

Other prominent venture capitals, including A. Capital, Seed Club Ventures, Robot Ventures, and DAOs like PUNK DAO and Flamingo DAO, participated in the fundraising.

Prominent angel investors such as Hayden Adams (Uniswap CEO), OpenSea co-founder Alex Atallah, and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasa also funded the project. 

Lens Is Launching a Social Media Where Everyone Builds Together

The past few months saw the advent of many decentralized solutions for social media, particularly amid challenges facing Twitter after Elon Musk’s takeover. 

The Lens is the latest firm to introduce a decentralized solution for social media.

The protocol will deploy the $15 million funds for the continued development of its ecosystem that benefits web3 users, creators, and builders. 

The new app prioritizes decentralization, allowing users complete control of their profiles, connections, posts, and data. 

Creators, users, and builders can easily switch to a new platform, taking their content and followers.

“Our Vision at Lens is to accelerate the adoption of the next-generation of internet powered by human connection—the people-powered social layer,” Stani Kulechov, founder of Lens Protocol, said. 

“People are driven to connect and share with others, be it news, photos, entertainment, opinions, etcetera. Lens creates a more social, open, equitable, and democratic internet—one secured by blockchain technology and governed by participants,” he added.

According to Kulechov, Lens brings an innovative approach to boosting social experiences by preserving users’ digital identity and enabling portability. 

He noted that the new social media would revolutionize the internet landscape, introducing novel monetization models and profitable businesses that share revenue equitably with creators and users.

Nick van Eck, a partner at General Catalyst, one of the participating VCs, noted that Lens’ efforts gears towards building a platform that empowers users, creators, and entrepreneurs. 

Eck explained that Lens’ open-source technology, data, and algorithms could transform social networking by offering users and content creators more value. 

Revolutionizing Social Networking

According to the blog post, Lens envisions a web of social ecosystems of decentralized apps seamlessly accessible to users through a universal profile. 

The protocol seeks to address the issue of users having to login into multiple sites by creating a social ecosystem where users can seamlessly move from one app to another, carrying their followers, content, and data with them.

The co-founder and general partner at Variant, Li Jin, noted that Lens’ team is commissioning a publicly accessible social graph that unlocks a more user-centered social networking paradigm.

Lens Launched as a technology stack without a front-end client and has grown its ecosystem into multiple third-party social networks with new clients and algorithms, such as OpenSea and Strive. 

This development could mark a milestone in ushering in a new era of social networking.