Swaraj Labs (Formerly Humit)

Swaraj Labs, initially founded as Humit in 2021 by Prithvi Sankar, Rohit Ganapathy, Ishaan Negi, Pradyunn Awasthi, and Rishi Bradoo, operated in the Web3 space. The company's primary focus was to provide a platform for independent artists to create and distribute their work using blockchain technologies, specifically through the creation and sale of music NFTs. This model allowed artists to earn royalties from both initial auctions and subsequent secondary sales of their digital assets.

The venture, also known as The Swaraj Projekt, was positioned as a creative powerhouse aiming to help artists produce groundbreaking art by leveraging Web3 strategies and tools. It functioned as an NFT-based social platform where art could be shared, attracting institutional investors such as First Cheque and Sunn91. The initial iteration, Humit, was a social music discovery app designed for peer-to-peer music sharing, allowing users to share 30-second clips of songs paired with a memory from their gallery, conceptually similar to Instagram but for music.

In August 2023, Swaraj Labs was acquired by Juno, a U.S.-based crypto payments application, for an undisclosed amount. This event marked a full company lifecycle for Swaraj Labs, from building and pivoting to a final exit. Following the acquisition, the Swaraj Labs team was tasked with leading Juno's global expansion efforts. The acquisition was facilitated in part by Antler, an investment firm that had backed both Juno and Swaraj Labs.

Keywords: music NFT, Web3, creator economy, blockchain technology, digital assets, royalty generation, social music discovery, artist empowerment, decentralized art, acquisition