Protagonist

?? Meet Popcorn ?? HQ: Distributed ?? Leadership: Neel Popat and Lukas Kairys ?? Website: www.popcorn.space ?? Vision & Opportunity: Popcorn is redefining global connectivity with a software-first approach, moving beyond outdated towers and antennas to build intelligent, flexible, and customer-first products that truly work. Their first product, a phone plan that eliminates roaming and the hassle of juggling SIMs, sets the stage for innovation. As we step into a future shaped by AI, space exploration, and global collaboration, Popcorn is creating the software layer that connects it all—enabling a world where you never waste time on customer service, can take video calls from anywhere, and let AI handle everyday tasks. They are making the world feel smaller and the future closer. ?? Round: Pre-Seed

Exciting news to share! I've started a new company and am going to space ?? (sort of) Meet Popcorn — the next-gen telco. It all started with a frustrating kitesurfing trip and one big question: As we move to a future of AI and space exploration, why haven't telcos kept up? ?? Roaming sucks ?? AI will kill the phone call ??? Space satellites are rewriting network rules So, Lukas and I decided to build a next-gen telco from the ground up. Software-first. Today, we introduce our first product. A global phone plan with a real US number that eliminates roaming and the hassle of juggling SIMs. Thousands have already discovered us and we're onboarding members daily. Check it out via the link in the comments!

?? Thrilled to announce our $12M Series A led by Benchmark and Sarah Tavel to accelerate Agentio’s mission to transform the future of advertising! ?? Since launching the Agentio ad platform last October, we’ve empowered leading performance marketing teams to scale YouTube creator ad programs as easily as other digital channels. By automating the hardest parts of working with creators—opacity, friction, decentralization, and lengthy negotiations—we’re unlocking a $600B+ paid media budget pool for authentic storytelling. This shift allows brands to invest in creators at scale for the first time, enabling them to authentically represent their stories and values. We believe creators are the future of advertising—not more banner ads, not skippable video ads, but real, meaningful, creator content that audiences love. Until now, this future hasn’t been scalable. Agentio is changing that. Our growth has been explosive, with many of the world's best advertisers and creators alike seeing tremendous value and ROAS from our platform. This journey wouldn’t be possible without our talented, world-class team and my incredible co-founder and CTO, Jonathan Meyers. To our amazing brand and creator partners, and to Benchmark , Craft Ventures, AlleyCorp, and so many others who share our vision—thank you for believing in our ambitious vision. If you’re a marketer looking to unlock a highly-performant ad channel, let’s connect! If you’re ready to help build a generational company in NYC, check out our 7 open roles—we’d love to have you on this journey: https://lnkd.in/ez2zhyrT This is just the beginning. Onward! ?? Congrats, team! I'm so lucky to get to set a higher bar with you, each and every day. Johanna Martens, Kevin Shieh, Abbie Sheppard, Hilary Anne Hyman, Sam Schiff, Alec S., Anna Haywood, John Schlachtenhaufen, Saumya Grover, Leona Lu, Steven Laake, Dan Tucker, Guillermo Echarte https://lnkd.in/eu8gUfb5

Last week, Protagonist co-hosted a breakfast at Flow Traders NYC office. It was great to connect and network with over 250 attendees, including founders and industry leaders!

?? Meet Kiva AI ?? HQ: San Francisco, CA ?? Leadership: Ahmed Rashad ?? Website: www.kivaai.com ?? Vision & Opportunity: Kiva AI is the comprehensive platform designed for high-quality, human-in-the-loop solutions for data collection, preprocessing, labeling, storage, and integration. By combining human expertise with the latest AI technologies, Kiva AI delivers scalable, reliable, and transparent data solutions that facilitate the development of the world's most ambitious and specialized AI applications. ?? Round: Pre-Seed

Exowatt launches today! ?? The power requirements to scale AI are astronomical. Within a decade AI will require 650TWh of new power generation – more than the electricity demand of South Korea. In the U.S. alone, data centers will require the equivalent amount of electricity to power 40 million households by 2030. Exowatt P3s can generate electricity at scale at just a $0.04 LCOE and with entirely renewable tech. That’s lower than the cost of most fossil fuels and doesn’t account for subsidies. We have already amassed a 1.2 GW backlog, worth $Bs from the mega tech hyperscalers, energy and data center companies. The system works by capturing the sun’s energy in the form of heat, storing it in a heat battery and converting it to electricity via a heat engine even when the sun is no longer out. This changes the economics of solar by solving a problem called the “Duck Curve” where all conventional solar producers are forced to sell their power at the same time while at maximum output, driving the electricity cost sometimes to zero or negative intraday and leaving no supply at night. Data centers need to operate 24/7 and typically have 60% of their OPEX from energy costs, so an inexpensive and ever available alternative is very important to them. Data centers are straining to bring capacity online and without solutions like Exowatt, are being forced to turn to fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. We hope you’ll join us in pushing forward an abundant and non fossil fuel powered future!?? https://lnkd.in/ewcUpW9t

?? Meet IDA ??HQ: Hong Kong ?? Leadership: Lawrence Chu and Sean Lee ?? Website: idafi.xyz ?? Vision & Opportunity: IDA is the premier digital asset technology company spearheading the widespread adoption of blockchain finance. They empower businesses to seamlessly integrate Web2 and Web3 technologies. IDA's mission is to propel Hong Kong to the forefront of fintech and Web3 innovation by attracting new foreign investments and capital from jurisdictions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global South, enabling more effective and efficient cross-border trade. ?? Round: Seed

?? Big milestone for IDA! We've secured USD 6 million in seed funding to bring our fiat-referenced stablecoin, #HKDA, to life soon! A huge thank you to our investors: CMCC Global, Hashed, Hack VC, Anagram, GSR, Protagonist, Brinc, Chorus One, Kenetic, SNZ Capital, Yolo Investments, and our notable angel investors for believing in our vision! We are also thrilled to have the support of leading blockchain foundations - Solana Foundation, Polygon Labs, Aptos Foundation and MANTRA - as our strategic blockchain partners to foster HKDA's interoperability, accessibility, resilience, and liquidity! Let's unleash the power of stablecoins together! ?? ?? Full release ? https://lnkd.in/gbARNiC8 #Web3 #Stablecoin #Innovation #Blockchain

?? Meet Holonym Foundation ?? HQ: Distributed ?? Leadership: Shady El Damaty and Nanak Nihal Khalsa ?? Website: holonym.id ?? Vision & Opportunity: Holonym Foundation's mission is to proliferate Human Keys to enhance security and privacy in zero-trust environments. Holonym has developed infrastructure that enables anyone, anywhere, to create Human Keys with Mishti Network, easily use them with Silk, and privately prove facts about their identity with Zeronym.

?? Meet Raad Labs ?? HQ: Miami Beach, Florida ?? Leadership: TJ (Teej) Ragsdale ?? Website: raad.com ?? Vision & Opportunity: Raad is deploying a distributed network of meteorological sensors and incentivizing individuals and businesses to purchase and host devices. This hyper-localized ground truth will empower governments, energy traders, utilities, and insurers to take action, protect infrastructure, and prevent human suffering. ?? Round: Seed