Startup profile · funding coverage
DeSO
Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built for decentralized social graphs and creator monetization.
Stage
growth
Status
private
Coverage
full
Why DeSO is interesting
A landmark 2021 token round placed Sequoia, a16z, Multicoin, and Blockchange on the same cap table — one of the largest social-crypto fundraises of the cycle.
Key facts
- Token sale (Sep 2021): ~$200M from Sequoia, a16z, Polychain, Coinbase Ventures et al. (ForkLog, DeSo docs)
- Layer-1 blockchain for decentralized social apps (BitClout rebrand)
Investors in our directory
Funds linked from DeSO's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.
Industries
Crypto & Web3 Consumer
Industry hub pages are rolling out from our fund-derived baseline taxonomy.
Related funding articles
Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover DeSO's financing or category context.
FAQs about DeSO
Funding context and why this company shows up in venture coverage.
DeSo is a purpose-built blockchain for decentralized social networks — developers build apps on shared on-chain identity and content graphs rather than siloed platform databases.
Andreessen Horowitz (/fund/andreessen-horowitz), Sequoia (/fund/sequoia), Multicoin Capital (/fund/multicoin-capital), and Blockchange Ventures (/fund/blockchange-ventures) participated in the September 2021 token sale alongside Polychain and Coinbase Ventures.
DeSO raised roughly $200M in a September 2021 token sale — not a traditional equity VC round — to fund the layer-1 network originally associated with the BitClout rebrand.
DeSO tested whether social graphs could live on-chain with native creator monetization — a thesis that influenced later decentralized social and Farcaster-era experiments.
No. DeSO operates as a blockchain protocol with a native token (DESO). It is not a publicly traded equity.
Last updated: 2026-07-24