RBV Weekly Newsletter 🧔📖 Week of 02/27/25

Welcome to the latest edition of the Red Beard Ventures newsletter, where we dive into exciting updates and insights from all over blockchain, frontier tech, and the angel investing landscape.

As a reminder, Red Beard Ventures has a syndicate, fund, and a tokenomics accelerator:

• The Red Beard Ventures Syndicate is stage agnostic and invests in Frontier Technology with a focus on Web3, Space, FinTech, Sports, Robotics, Biotech, and Climate. We invest anywhere between $100k - $1.5M.

• The Red Beard Ventures Fund I invests $100k - $1M in Pre-seed and Seed blockchain-based companies.

• Denarii Labs is a tokenomics accelerator where we invest $100k into companies interested in designing and launching a token, over a twelve week hands-on program. 🚨Applications are now open for Wire Accelerator, apply here! 🚨

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🚀 RBV Spotlight:

Inside the Denarii Labs Tokenomics Summit: Faces and Highlights

The Denarii Labs Tokenomics Summit with Red Beard Ventures at Ethereum Denver is happening right now! If you’re planning to come by, expect a chalk full day of tokenomics, AI,  and Web3 insights from industry experts, featuring our Denarii Labs: 002 Demo Day! Check out our X thread for a ‘who’s who’ and other highlights to expect. Here’s the run of show:

• 10:00am - 10:30am →  Keynote Address: AI is the Killer App for Crypto

• 10:35am - 10:45am → Denarii Labs: Tokenomics in Ten Minutes (Demo Day Intro)

• 10:45am - 11:50am → Denarii Labs 002: Demo Day

• 11:50am - 12:20pm → Denarii Labs: 003 - Wire Network, Xion, and Avalanche

• 12:30pm - 1:00pm → Revolutionary Transactions through Decentralized Culture

• 1:05pm - 1:40pm → Real World Tokens: Business - Utility - Impact

• 1:45pm - 2:30pm → Venture Capital: Investing in Token Economies

• 2:35pm - 3:15pm → Play-AND-Win: Economics Powering On-Chain Gaming

• 3:20pm - 4:00pm → The (AI)gency Era: The Power of AI in Crypto

• 4:15pm - 4:45pm → Regulatory Crossfire: What’s Coming Next for Crypto in 2025?

• 5:00pm - 6:00pm → Drinks and Networking

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💼 Portfolio News:

OPEN Launches Telegram Bot to Drive Community Engagement in Decentralized Ticketing

• OPEN Ticketing Ecosystem has introduced its Telegram Bot, enabling users to participate, complete tasks, and climb the leaderboard for potential future rewards.

• The initiative fosters community engagement and growth, reinforcing OPEN’s mission to revolutionize ticketing with blockchain technology.

• As the industry navigates a bear market, OPEN continues building, aiming to reshape the future of event access with decentralized solutions.

Mintify Acquires Eat Collective to Expand Onchain Trading Ecosystem

• Mintify is acquiring Eat Collective, a leading trading group, to expand its team and enhance its onchain trading platform for users, builders, and blockchains.

• Eat Collective members will retain exclusive market insights and trading benefits, while gaining early access to Mintify’s advanced tools, consumer apps, and high-demand token drops.

• The acquisition strengthens Mintify’s community and ecosystem, introducing new trading channels for NFTs, tokens, and blockchain markets as it scales throughout the year.

Maiga Partners with Swarm Network to Advance AI-Powered Crypto Trading

• Maiga.ai joins forces with Swarm Network, the leading multi-agent collaboration infrastructure on SUI, to push the boundaries of decentralized AI trading intelligence.

• This partnership enhances AI-driven automation in crypto and DeFi, enabling more efficient, scalable, and intelligent trading strategies.

• Backed by top investors, Maiga.ai continues to build the future of AI-powered trading, making decentralized finance smarter and more accessible.

The Sandbox Marketplace Transitions to Polygon for a Streamlined Experience

• The Sandbox is shifting its marketplace focus entirely to Polygon assets, improving transaction efficiency and user experience.

• Layer 1 assets will remain fully functional in game, retain utility, and stay visible in inventories, but can no longer be bought or listed directly on The Sandbox Marketplace.

• This transition simplifies transactions while ensuring seamless access to both Polygon and Layer 1 assets, enhancing the NFT trading experience across the ecosystem.

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🔔 Active Investment Opportunities:

Mobot: AI Powered Robotics for Mobile App Testing

• Mobot combines physical robots with AI automation to execute real-world mobile app testing, eliminating inefficiencies software-only solutions like Appium and Espresso cannot handle.

• Serving 70+ enterprise clients, including Chime, LinkedIn, and Best Buy Health, Mobot has reached $4M ARR in 2024 with 70% gross margins and is on track for $6M ARR in 2025, driven by a 3.3x spend increase from existing customers.

• Raising a $3M Series A extension with all Series A investors reinvesting; round is fully subscribed, but Mobot is making space for our syndicate.

• Link to invest

Texas Ranchers: Building the Future of Professional Pickleball

• Ranchers Global is a premier paddle and racquet sport conglomerate, owning the Texas Ranchers Major League Pickleball (MLP) team and strategic equity stakes in key pickleball assets, including MLP, Pickleball TV, and DUPR.

• Since acquiring the Texas Ranchers for $5.25M in 2023, Ranchers Global has transformed the team into the most-followed, highest-valued, and highest-grossing franchise in MLP, securing league-leading sponsorships and media deals.

• With $1M in revenue to date and projected $3.1M in 2025 revenue, Ranchers Global is capitalizing on the rapid 40% CAGR growth of pickleball, the sport's push toward Olympic recognition, and rising valuations across MLP franchises.

• Raising a $3M Series A at a $23M pre-money valuation, with notable investors including Lil Wayne, Scottie Scheffler, Tim Tebow, Taylor Fritz, and the DeVos family. The round is in high demand, but Ranchers Global is making space for our syndicate.

• Link to invest

Inferium: The First Verifiable AI Inference Hub

• Inferium is building the AI inference marketplace, enabling businesses to run, compare, and deploy AI models with real-world performance validation—a capability missing in centralized solutions like OpenAI and Google Vertex AI.

• With 110K+ users, 4,500+ daily inference requests, and 2,000 AI models under review, Inferium is rapidly becoming the go to platform for AI model benchmarking. Strategic partnerships with Aethir, IO.net, Oasis, and Gaimin further strengthen its position in the $1T+ AI infrastructure market.

• Backed by KuCoin Labs, Insignius Capital, X21 Digital, and Tempest Ventures, Inferium is raising an $810K seed round via SAFT at an $11.25M pre money valuation with major investors secured.

• Link to invest

Travelswap: Exclusive Expedia Crypto Partner Disrupting Travel

• TravelSwap, an Expedia exclusive, combines travel booking with 100+ crypto payments, tokenized reservations, and rewards.

• Impressive traction since July 2023 launch: 1,000+ bookings, 50+ B2B partners, 10k+ users (50% MoM growth), 12%+ repeat bookings.

• 2024 plans: $TRAVL token, last-minute DEX, V2 B2B platform, expanded offerings.

• Link to invest

PWR Labs: First Blockchain to Create Direct Interoperability with Web2

• PWR Labs is revolutionizing blockchain infrastructure by creating direct interoperability with Web2, enabling seamless deployment of programming languages across external VMs, side chains, and smart contracts.

• Testnet live since 2023 with various projects already building on the platform. Mainnet launch scheduled for Q4 2024. PWR Chain uniquely eliminates platform limitations, mirroring the decentralized structure of the internet.

• $6M Pre-Seed raise via SAFT with a $90M pre-money valuation cap and token price of $0.09. 

• Backed by notable investors including Tim Draper’s Draper Associates, Magnus Capital (Astra Protocol, Desofy), Alphabit Fund (Sire), GVG Capital, and Crypto Oasis Ventures.

• Co-founder & CEO Melanie Mohr, serial entrepreneur with 20+ years in media and mobile technology, and Co-founder & CTO Edy Haddad, blockchain veteran with on-chain records for gas-efficient smart contracts, are leading this transformative project.

• Link to invest

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🥳 Upcoming Events:

We are currently at ETH Denver! We’ll be here until March 2nd.

Stay tuned for updates on future events, and until then, keep spreading joy and positivity in our community!

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Onwards 🚀

Drew, Elana, Joshua, Lauren, and Austin