Israeli VC Firm Pitango Launches First Labs Investment DAO

Venture capital company Pitango has officially launched First Labs, a thesis-driven web3 lab. Pitango is Israel’s leading venture capital firm that operates seed and early venture fund Pitango First.

According to the information provided, First Labs will support investment in early-stage companies utilizing web3 technologies including blockchain, tokenization, NFTs, and metaverses. It will reportedly identify ventures that have sustainable growth models through equity and/or token-based investments. Moreover, First Labs will provide the mentoring to help projects realize their potential by introducing them to its extensive partner network.

Describing the development, Ayal Itzkovitz, managing partner at Pitango First, states that they’ve been involved in the crypto space in the last five years and have been following it closely.

We believe that the time is ripe to bring the VC and crypto native community together in a new, modern, and relevant vehicle that will foster innovation and support sustainable venture building in the Web 3.0 space.

Notably, First Labs will operate a novel investment DAO, known as First DAO. Founding members of the DAO include Aviv Barzilay, core members of the Pitango First team, and leading blockchain figures, including Tomer Weiss, Amit Peled, Oren De-lange, and MarketAcross partners Nadav Dekner, Elad Mor, and Itai Elizur.

Aviv Barzilay, head of First Labs says, “From liquidity mining to token engineering, First Labs is designed to answer the unique needs of the crypto space. Our platform will allow founders and community members to connect and will empower web2 companies to make the leap into web3 with confidence. Having partnered with top crypto-native companies and domain experts, First Labs has the expertise to unlock the web3 universe and everything it has to offer.”

The team adds that First Labs aims to bridge the divide between web3 and the traditional tech world by onboarding web2 companies to the fast-growing space while making it easier for investors to identify the first wave of web3 unicorns.

Furthermore, First DAO will incorporate the structure of a decentralized autonomous organization over time, gradually assigning stewardship to its community. Having exited stealth mode today, First Labs intends to launch its first program to accelerate web3 teams within two months. Its community members will play a pivotal role in advancing the development of ideas and concepts around the projects it supports in the First Labs Program.