MetaCartel Ventures
MetaCartel Ventures is a DAO that distributes ETH grants to early-stage Web3 projects in the Ethereum ecosystem, funded by ETH contributions from members who receive on-chain governance rights in return. Its visible portfolio includes Aave, Gelato, and Zapper.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What MetaCartel Ventures does
MetaCartel Ventures operates as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that distributes ETH grants to early-stage Web3 projects within the Ethereum ecosystem. Funding members contribute ETH to the DAO treasury and, in return, receive on-chain DAO membership with governance voting rights; grants are then allocated to projects whose values align with the community, with no financial return expected from recipients. The organization's core "products" are the grants program itself, the DAO governance layer (operated on Gnosis Chain via DAOhaus at contract 0x64/0xb152b115c94275b54a3f0b08c1aa1d21f32a659a), and a portfolio of event and community properties including MCON (a recurring DAO conference), MetaCamp (an in-person unconference held in Costa Rica in 2022), Public Nouns (an NFT offering launched in 2022), and Hydra DAO (a new DAO sub-architecture with a published whitepaper).
The underlying technology stack is Web3-native: on-chain governance on Gnosis Chain rather than Ethereum mainnet (a migration made in 2020 to escape rising gas fees), a Community First Manifesto gating soft-membership, weekly "Taco Townhall" governance calls on Discord, and forum-based proposal workflows. The business model is not revenue-generating in the conventional sense — ETH inflows are capital contributions deployed as grants, and the value capture mechanism is reputational and network-based rather than financial. Notable grant recipients that grew into prominent protocols include Aave, Gelato, Zapper, MetaFactory, MetaGame, DAOhaus, and Raid Guild, which collectively form the visible "ecosystem" MetaCartel markets itself around. Headcount is reported at 11-50 participants across a globally distributed, remote-first membership.
From a go-to-market standpoint, distribution runs through Discord, Twitter (@Meta_Cartel), a dedicated forum (forum.metacartel.org), and IRL events rather than paid sales or marketing. Onboarding is either via ETH contribution (funding member path) or via signing the Community First Manifesto (contributor path), with no disclosed pricing schedule or membership fees beyond the ETH contribution itself. The organization is privately held as a DAO with no parent company, no disclosed subsidiaries, no institutional cap table, and no disclosed token distribution.
MetaCartel Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MetaCartel Ventures
- Website
- https://metacartel.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MetaCartel Ventures is a DAO that distributes ETH grants to early-stage Web3 projects in the Ethereum ecosystem, funded by ETH contributions from members who receive on-chain governance rights in return. Its visible portfolio includes Aave, Gelato, and Zapper.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
MetaCartel Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Decentralized Venture Funding
- NAICS
- Other Financial Vehicles (52599)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199), Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Grants, Funding & Budget Allocation Platforms (FSAPAHAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- DAO Treasury, Governance & On-Chain Finance Tools (FSADAMAL), Governance Frameworks & DAO Tooling (modules, templates, standards) (FSAPAHAC), Coordination & Contributor Management (tasks, bounties, roles) (FSAPAHAD)
Keywords
Where MetaCartel Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
MetaCartel Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
MetaCartel Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MetaCartel Ventures is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that deploys ETH-denominated grants to early-stage Web3 projects in exchange for those projects contributing back to the DAO's tooling and community. Funding members contribute ETH to acquire tiered DAO membership (Diamond, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper) granting proportional voting rights over grant allocation and treasury decisions.
Product overview
MetaCartel is a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) functioning as a supportive ecosystem of creators and builders at the forefront of web3. Rather than a traditional product company, MetaCartel operates as a grant-giving DAO that funds web3 projects through its membership-based funding model. The ecosystem includes the MetaCartel DAO for governance, a grants program that has funded successful projects like Aave, Gelato, and Zapper, event properties like MCON (conference) and MetaCamp (unconference), Public Nouns (NFT offering), and Hydra DAO. Members can join through funding (providing ETH) or contributing work, gaining access to the community and voting power in the DAO.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- MetaCartel Grants Program ETH-denominated grant funding program that deploys DAO treasury capital to early-stage Web3 projects, protocols, and DAOs building on Ethereum and Gnosis Chain. Grant recipients have included Aave, Gelato, Zapper, MetaFactory, MetaGame, DAOhaus, and Raid Guild.
- Hydra DAO An open-source DAO framework developed by MetaCartel Ventures to enable other communities to launch and operate their own DAOs. Released as a public good with an associated whitepaper, extending MetaCartel's contribution beyond capital deployment into shared infrastructure.
- Public Nouns NFT offering distributed by MetaCartel Ventures as part of its public-facing community and brand presence.
Quantifiable outcome
- Grant from MetaCartel signals credibility to growing ecosystem that recipient has esteem and support of discerning community
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use MetaCartel Ventures
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
MetaCartel Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
MetaCartel Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
MetaCartel Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- DAOhaus: DAOhaus provides no-code DAO tooling and is itself a MetaCartel grant recipient operating its own treasury. It is comparable as DAO infrastructure that MetaCartel actively uses for governance (MetaCartel's DAO is hosted on DAOhaus), making it both a peer and a downstream ecosystem dependency.
- Raid Guild: Raid Guild is a service DAO of Web3 builders, originally funded by a MetaCartel grant. It is comparable as an ecosystem DAOs in MetaCartel's orbit with shared community and contributor overlap.
Direct peers
- Seed Club: Seed Club is a DAO accelerator that incubates and funds community-driven tokenized projects. It competes with MetaCartel Ventures for early-stage Web3 deals and shares the focus on community-led ventures and DAO formation.
- FlamingoDAO: FlamingoDAO is a member-owned DAO that pools ETH to invest in NFTs and digital assets. It is comparable to MetaCartel as a member-funded Ethereum investment DAO, though focused specifically on the NFT vertical rather than grants.
- JuiceboxDAO: Juicebox is a treasury and funding platform built on smart contracts that DAOs use to raise and manage ETH treasuries. It is comparable to MetaCartel as core DAO financial infrastructure and overlaps with Hydra DAO's treasury/governance ambitions.
- Gitcoin: Gitcoin runs quadratic funding grants for Web3 public goods and has become one of the largest grant-distribution platforms in the Ethereum ecosystem. It is directly comparable to MetaCartel as both direct ETH to ecosystem builders, though Gitcoin uses broader public matching pools.
- Octant: Octant is a DAO-funded platform that allocates ETH staking yield to public-goods grants. It is comparable to MetaCartel Ventures as a competing grants-distribution mechanism within the Ethereum public-goods funding ecosystem.
- MolochDAO: MolochDAO is one of the earliest Ethereum DAOs, structured to coordinate and fund Ethereum public-goods infrastructure. It overlaps with MetaCartel's public-goods grants mandate and shares the multi-sig governance and member-contribution model.
- The LAO: The LAO is a DAO focused on venture-style investments in the Ethereum ecosystem with a legally wrapped structure. It is directly comparable to MetaCartel Ventures as both pool ETH from members to fund Web3 projects, though The LAO takes equity/Tokens rather than giving grants.
Others
- Aave Companies: Aave is a DeFi lending protocol that originated as a MetaCartel grant recipient and has since become a category-defining protocol. It is comparable as a marquee alumni demonstrating MetaCartel's curation track record, though it is not a direct operational competitor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks2 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
MetaCartel Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceMetaCartel Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MetaCartel Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
MetaCartel Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MetaCartel Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments42 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about MetaCartel Ventures
What does MetaCartel Ventures do?
MetaCartel Ventures is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that deploys ETH-denominated grants to early-stage Web3 projects in exchange for those projects contributing back to the DAO's tooling and community. Funding members contribute ETH to acquire tiered DAO membership (Diamond, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Copper) granting proportional voting rights over grant allocation and treasury decisions.
Is MetaCartel Ventures a public or private company?
MetaCartel Ventures is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was MetaCartel Ventures founded?
MetaCartel Ventures was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MetaCartel Ventures based?
MetaCartel Ventures is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
Who are MetaCartel Ventures's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are DAOhaus and Raid Guild. Direct peers are Seed Club, FlamingoDAO, JuiceboxDAO, Gitcoin, Octant, MolochDAO and The LAO. Aave Companies is listed as an others.
Does MetaCartel Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for MetaCartel Ventures.
What industry is MetaCartel Ventures in?
MetaCartel Ventures's product category is Decentralized Venture Funding. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPAHAE, Grants, Funding & Budget Allocation Platforms, with a secondary code of FSADAMAL, DAO Treasury, Governance & On-Chain Finance Tools. Its NAICS code is 52599 and its SIC code is 6199.