Epics DAO Closes Seed Extension Round for Its Solana NFT Card Game, Total Funding Exceeds 750K USD

ELSOUL LABO B.V. (headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, CEO: Fumitake Kawasaki), and its initiative, Epics DAO, which operates a Web3 NFT card game supporting open-source development, have completed a seed extension funding round through a SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) and token sale, raising a total of 300K USD with individual investors including Yuki Hamada, former CPO and board member of Mercari, as underwriters.

This fundraising event has accumulated a total of 750K USD to date. The capital raised will be utilized for product development and marketing enhancement of the NFT card game "Buidlers Guild".

Social Issues Solved by Epics

In recent years, high-quality open-source software, which is predominantly free, has been adopted by 97% of companies, showing significant growth. However, as many projects are volunteer-driven, they often suffer from financial difficulties or a lack of resources, leading to inadequate maintenance. Consequently, over half of the software globally is at risk due to serious security vulnerabilities.

The Epics platform addresses this issue by providing appropriate incentives for development, funding, and PR - three crucial resources for projects. It promotes collaboration among community members with different roles, such as developers, investors, and marketing activists, with the aim of enhancing support for open-source software development, ensuring sustainable development, global software security, and further improving quality.

On the Epics platform, contributions to open-source result in earning card packs that can be used in the NFT card game "Buidlers Guild". As the type of cards received varies with the nature of the work (development, investment, or publicity), it fosters a supportive community where everyone aids in clearing tasks. Even users who do not play the card game find value in obtaining card packs due to demand from players, and valuable cards can lead to advantageous trades on the market, making it a platform enjoyable for all positions.

By focusing on fun and play on the platform, a sustainable open-source development environment is created, leading to high-quality open-source software that can address various social issues. This positive cycle is what Epics DAO strives to achieve.

Past Achievements and Future Developments, Use of Funds

Epics was awarded 5th place among over 18,000 entries at the Solana Summer Camp Hackathon in 2022. That same year, it received WBSO certification (a project for advanced scientific research and development) from the Dutch government.

In January 2023, the utility token

EPCT IDO was held, and in February, it was newly listed on Meteora, a DEX on Solana adopting an innovative protocol called DLMM, where Epics Rewards are currently being held (providing additional rewards to liquidity providers). The token price of 0.018327, which is more than three times its initial price at issuance ($0.005).

$EPCT Chart (birdeye): https://birdeye.so/token/CvB1ztJvpYQPvdPBePtRzjL4aQidjydtUz61NWgcgQtP?chain=solana

Currently, on the Epics platform, open-source projects can create bounties. These bounties are utilized for purposes such as publicity for open-source, or conducting necessary testing and surveys for development. Users can earn rewards and obtain card packs by clearing bounties (contributing to open-source projects).

Epics Platform: https://app.epics.dev/

NFT card packs can be listed on NFT markets like Magic Eden and Tensor. All NFTs minted on the Epics platform, including these card packs and cards, have a 10% transaction fee set by the user who minted them. This ensures that 10% of the transaction fees generated from secondary sales of NFTs continually go to the user who minted them.

The funds raised will be utilized to tackle development challenges through quests, NFT staking that rewards both users and the open-source projects they stake on, further platform functionality implementations, and the development of the NFT card game "Buidlers Guild".

Moreover, marketing efforts will be intensified, including participation in the Nico Nico Super Conference 2024 in April and WebX 2024 in August.

Comments from Investors Participating in This Round

Yuki Hamada - CEO of Inebra, former CPO and board member of Mercari

Twitter(X): https://twitter.com/yukihamada

"I have great expectations for Epics' approach to promoting open-source contributions through NFTs and gamification. Lower the barrier to participation, involve a diverse range of people, and accelerate innovation.

The acceptance of a research paper at ENASE 2024 was a great step forward. Continue to support Epics' efforts academically and make a lasting impact on the industry. Let's utilize the insights gained from research in platform design.

I believe in Kawasaki and Kishi's vision and initiative. Raise it to be a DAO with a high aspiration that contributes to the development of the web. I look forward to the challenge of pioneering the future of open-source development together."

About Epics DAO and ELSOUL LABO

The core team of Epics DAO and ELSOUL LABO is also actively involved in the development of open-source software.

We have developed two open-source software projects, "solv" and "Skeet", and manage these projects.

"solv" is an open-source tool designed to simplify the setup and operation of Solana validators and RPC nodes. To earn rewards as a blockchain validator, it is necessary to prepare a machine with appropriate specifications, install and set up validator software according to documentation, and perform updates several times a week. This series of tasks, which all validators must perform, posed a high barrier to entry due to the specialized knowledge required as a server administrator.

Using solv, anyone can easily set up a Solana validator with just three command copy-pastes. Taking advantage of open-source development, updates can be done by one person globally, and then downloaded by others, completing the process. solv users can finish even daily update tasks with a single command.

solv Official Documentation: https://solv.epics.dev/

"Skeet" is an open-source serverless app development tool using TypeScript, offering modern application framework capabilities such as streamlined infrastructure design and management, rapid application development, flexibility to develop only the needed features quickly, enhanced AI support, and compatibility with dApps and Web3 app development.

Skeet Official Documentation: https://skeet.dev/

The research paper "Skeet: Towards a Lightweight Serverless Framework Supporting Modern AI-Driven App Development" was accepted at the international conference on software engineering, ENASE 2024 (Evaluation of Novel Approaches to Software Engineering), and is scheduled to be presented in France this April.

ENASE 2024: https://enase.scitevents.org/

Following this, the paper is planned to be included and published in the proceedings of ENASE 2024, and will be indexed in multiple leading academic literature search services, including Google Scholar and Scopus.

We will continue to actively engage in open-source software development and support the development environment of open-source projects to foster various innovations.

Thank you for your continued support.

■ Company Overview

• Name: ELSOUL LABO B.V.
• Founders: Fumitake Kawasaki, Shota Kishi
• Business: Software research and development (AI, Cloud, Blockchain)
• Established: September 2020
• Location: Weteringschans 165, 1017XD Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Certification: WBSO (advanced research and development) from the Dutch government, Google Cloud Build partner
• Corporate URL: https://labo.elsoul.nl
• Official Discord: https://discord.gg/H2HeqRq54J
• Press Kit: https://labo.elsoul.nl/en/press-kits

■ DAO Overview

• DAO Name: Epics DAO
• Founders: Fumitake Kawasaki, Shota Kishi
• Business: Research, development, and operation of socially beneficial blockchain games
• Established: June 2022
• Awards: 5th place at Solana Summer Camp Hackathon 2022
• DAO URL: https://epics.dev
• Twitter(X) URL: https://twitter.com/EpicsDAO2
• Official Discord: https://discord.gg/GmHYfyRamx

※ This article is not intended for investment advice. The information contained in this article is based on the situation at the time of writing. Please check for the most current information. Always NFA/DYOR.