Summary

This proposal aims to allocate funding to support a greater quantity of high-impact climate biotech research projects through a collaboration with Molecule Catalyst. The initiative combines resources from ValleyDAO to select and fund promising projects, enhancing the number of IP assets in the ValleyDAO treasury. The proposal includes a budget of up to $50,000 and outlines a governance framework for project selection and funding approval.

Background

ValleyDAO has been executing a strategy on allocating significant portions of its treasury toward high quality, high conviction projects. To supplement this strategy, ValleyDAO is seeking to consider ways to increase the size of its IP portfolio through co-funding of research through a syndicate approach. To this end, we are pursuing a partnership with Molecule with its launch of Catalyst, to enable the ValleyDAO community and other members of the DeSci ecosystem to help co-fund projects in partnership with ValleyDAO. Catalyst is a product Molecule is developing that enables direct, decentralized funding of research projects proposed by the community. By co-funding projects on Catalyst, ValleyDAO hopes to enable more of its community members to fund and co-govern projects alongside the DAO, enable the community to get more involved in the research, and add more projects to its portfolio. Collaborating with Molecule Catalyst, which connects researchers, biotech experts, and funders, provides an effective platform for sourcing and supporting these projects. ValleyDAO serves to benefit from Molecule’s efforts to open new capital pools to fund synthetic biology and climate biotechnology research.

Molecule Catalyst Overview Molecule Catalyst is a platform designed to facilitate the funding of translational research projects. It connects researchers with funders by arming researchers with a platform to get funding with web3. This collaboration aligns with ValleyDAO’s mission to fund, tokenize and bridge climate biotechnology research from the bench to the market.

The Proposal

Objective To collaborate with Molecule Catalyst to fund and accelerate high-potential climate biotechnology research projects, turning successfully funded initiatives into impactful translational research outputs. The intention is that ValleyDAO would fund part of two larger $50-100k projects, with the remaining coming from Molecule Catalyst.

Funding Allocation

• Total Budget: Earmarking up to $50,000
• Project Focus: High-impact climate biotechnology research with translational potential
• Project Count: Up to 2 projects

Implementation Plan

Sourcing Projects:

1. Molecule Catalyst will source potential projects aligned with ValleyDAO’s research priorities
2. ValleyDAO will suggest specific project types or areas of interest.

Funding Approval: 3. Projects meeting the criteria will be first proposed to the ValleyDAO dealflow working group 4. A poll approving / denying funding, followed by a poll for capital allocation amount will be governed by the ValleyDAO dealflow working group 5. Projects meeting the criteria will be presented to the ValleyDAO community for approval via a soft-governance proposal. 6. Each project will require a governance vote by GROW token holders to secure funding from the treasury.

Project Management: 7. Molecule will manage the funded projects, providing regular updates and ensuring milestones are met. 8. ValleyDAO and direct funders of projects on Catalyst will receive reports on progress and impact, ensuring progress is being made.

Expected Outcomes

• Support and accelerate up to two high-potential climate biotechnology projects.
• Enhance ValleyDAO’s mission by funding innovative research with potential for significant scientific and commercial impact.
• Foster tighter collaboration between researchers, funders, the broader ValleyDAO community, and Molecule, creating a more connected ecosystem for climate biotechnology research.

Timeline

• Project Initiation: If / when the proposal passes
• Project Completion: December 31, 2024