LabDAO

LabDAO, established in 2022, operates as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) with the goal of advancing progress in the computational life sciences. The company was co-founded by Niklas Rindtorff, Arye Lipman, and Jocelynn Pearl, who met within early decentralized science (DeSci) communities like Molecule and VitaDAO. Rindtorff, a physician-scientist with a background in biomedical informatics from Harvard and research experience at the German Cancer Research Center and the Broad Institute, envisioned a platform to lower barriers in scientific research. His work has focused on developing screening platforms for patient-derived cancer organoids to discover new therapeutics.

Functioning as a community-run network, LabDAO provides researchers, particularly those in independent or university-affiliated settings, with access to funding, collaborators, and computational tools. This structure bypasses the traditional hierarchies and limitations of academic research, fostering a more open and inclusive environment. The business model centers on creating a peer-to-peer network where resources are shared directly among scientists, powered by blockchain technology. By May 2023, the organization had secured $3.95 million in early-stage venture capital from investors including Gnosis, Village Global, and Balaji Srinivasan.

LabDAO's core offering is its platform which facilitates the exchange of laboratory and computation services. A key product is PLEX, a software hub that allows users to access containerized computational tools for tasks like data analysis, experimental result processing, and complex modeling without needing expensive institutional infrastructure. A distinctive feature is the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to establish data ownership and provenance. When a scientist uses PLEX, the input and output data are minted as NFTs, creating a reproducible and verifiable record of who generated the data and when, which is crucial for establishing intellectual property. While currently focused on digital tools, LabDAO plans to expand PLEX to include physical laboratory resources in the future.

Keywords: decentralized science, DeSci, computational biology, drug discovery, blockchain in research, research collaboration, open science, bioinformatics, NFTs for IP, biotech platform