Palo Alto, California, March 1, 2024, Chainwire
Using OpenRank, developers and web3 companies can build consumer apps where people can discover, use, finance, read, or buy anything on-chain without worrying about spam or scams.
Karma3 Labs has raised $4.5 million in seed funding led by Galaxy and IDEO CoLab Ventures to build OpenRank, a decentralized reputation protocol. Using OpenRank, developers and web3 protocols can provide consumer apps, communities and marketplaces with an open ranking and recommendation layer that gives users security and peace of mind when making on-chain decisions, without having to trust centralized gatekeepers. Some of OpenRank’s early use cases include using a community rating system for app marketplaces like Metamask Snaps; Ranking and recommendation APIs for Lens and Farcaster; On-Chain discovery feeds for consumer apps and wallets; and reputation-based voting and governance.
Introducing trust and reputation mechanisms is critical for web3, just as it has been for web2, where there have been numerous use cases in decentralized peer-to-peer tools. For example, Uber has decentralized taxi services due to driver ratings; AirBnB has decentralized hotels because of guest reviews; eBay decentralized the mall because of seller ratings; Reddit decentralized gated community forums due to users’ karma badges; Google made the practical use of the decentralized web possible because of PageRank. However, none of these services could be fully decentralized because a single entity owned the reputation scores. To avoid centralized gatekeepers, there is a need for decentralized reputation mechanisms. Such reputation systems must be open-source, permission-free, flexible for different contexts, and Sybil-resistant.
OpenRank solves this in web3, creating a decentralized reputation mechanism that lays the foundation for a future where peer-to-peer interactions and collective community information power a decentralized web of trust, eliminating the need for centralized gatekeepers. The protocol aims for a scenario where Twitter’s Community Notes-like system was possible, but not owned by a single company, open and cheaply accessible to any developer, who could define their own algorithm of choice.
“A decentralized internet characterized by fairness and transparency depends on the existence of a robust reputation system,” said Sahil Dewan, founder and CEO of Karma3 Labs. “We believe that on-chain social and consumer experiences need a decentralized reputation protocol and we’re excited to onboard builders and developers for OpenRank.”
OpenRank allows any developer to calculate ratings, rankings, or recommendations for their apps or communities based on reputation graphs without permission. These graphs can be constructed using on-chain or other peer-to-peer social graph data. Using graph algorithms, such as EigenTrust, the OpenRank will enable verifiable calculations on these reputation graphs.
OpenRank uses zero-knowledge proof systems to perform graph algorithm calculations. Developers can use any on-chain data that fits their application context without worrying about the cost or verifiability of computing the data. Consumer applications and marketplaces will be able to seamlessly integrate context-specific, native rankings and recommendations. Furthermore, developers can also use rankings and reputations from other ecosystems and communities to build their own reputation system. OpenRank believes that a reputation computing layer in web3 would enable a broader range of useful applications, including those that resist cryptographic or game-theoretic trust mechanisms. To achieve this, the team needs a system that is resilient to Sybil contexts, provides scalable computing power, and can be used by any developer without permission.
“OpenRank represents a critical advancement in web3 social and on-chain interactions. We’ve seen the impact PageRank has had on web2 and there’s a huge opportunity to build a similarly primitive reputation on-chain,” said Mike Giampapa, General Partner of Galaxy’s venture team. “We are excited about the future of Karma3 Labs and what they have built with OpenRank, and are proud to lead the company’s seed round.”
The fundraising was led by Galaxy and IDEO CoLab Ventures, with participation from Spartan, SevenX, HashKey, Flybridge, Delta Fund, Draper Dragon and Compa Capital. Angel investors from Xooglers Fund and veterans from Coinbase, ConsenSys, IPFS, along with Andrew Hong from Dune Analytics and Liang Wu from the Harvard Crypto Lab also invested in the seed round. The increase will allow OpenRank to broaden adoption in early use cases and help launch protocol v1 for developers, ushering in a new era of permissionless and verifiable reputation calculation.
“Karma3 Labs and the OpenRank reputation and trust protocol will enable radical innovation around choice, personalization and security for a rapidly evolving internet. We’re excited to see OpenRank already being implemented to enable open marketplaces, reduce spam, and choose your own algorithms. This is just the beginning of what is possible and we look forward to working with the Karma3 Labs team to bring these possibilities to life,” said Joe Gerber, Managing Director of IDEO CoLab.
About OpenRank
OpenRank is a decentralized reputation protocol founded by Karma3 Labs. OpenRank introduces decentralized reputation mechanisms that lay the foundation for a future where peer-to-peer interactions and collective community intelligence power a decentralized web of trust, eliminating the need for centralized gatekeepers. With OpenRank we can build a world with a better reputation.
Contact
Karma3 Labs
hello@karma3labs.com