RnDAO 2024 Recap
As 2024 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on an incredible year of progress, innovation, and community-driven impact at RnDAO. This year, we pushed the boundaries of Collaboration Technology, attracted and supported more ventures, and empowered builders and researchers to shape the future of decentralized collaboration.
Here’s a look back at the highlights from our journey:
ArbitrumDAO Co.Lab Fellowship
The Co.Lab Fellowship was an initiative run by RnDAO in partnership with ArbitrumDAO. It was a 12-week research program validating major challenges in collaboration technology.
The program started in January and officially ended on April 4th, celebrated at the Fellowship Demo Day where our Fellows presented summaries of their final papers. We covered topics like Compensation, Reputation, DAOifying IRL companies, Social web3 CRMs, and Sensemaking with the help of LLMs.
Key Highlights:
- 100+ Applications: a global response from bright minds
- 6 Fellows Selected: 5 completed their research, producing insightful papers
- 11 Published Articles: deep dives advancing the CollabTech domain
- 5 Research Papers: mapping problem spaces (one fellow dropped due to health issues)
- 4 New Ventures: emerged as part of the Arbitrum CollabTech business cluster (with 1 venture continuing in Cardano due to funding constraints)
- Organic Social Support: 100k+ impressions and 300+ organic reposts on X
Read the Co.Lab Fellowship Wrap-Up.
CollabTech Frontiers
This monthly series focused on critical topics in collaboration technology. Each topic brought together expert panelists to explore themes like:
Across our social media posts, blog posts, X spaces, and published talks, we dove deeper into each theme to share insights from various builders and experts. We also curated research articles, podcasts, and maps of current CollabTech apps to foster inspiration in the community...
CollabTech QF Round in Gitcoin's GG21
RnDAO partnered with Gitcoin to organize the first Quadratic Funding round focused on collaboration technology. The round was scheduled in August to run for two weeks, and we received over 50 applications from CollabTech projects around the world.
Akin to Kickstarter, projects were required to declare a “funding threshold,” the minimum amount of funding they need to deliver value. Those who met that amount in donations received matching funds from the $30k pool.
The round closed with:
- 29 eligible projects participating
- 751 donations from the community
- 16 projects reaching their funding thresholds
- $30,000 distributed from the matching pool
Expanding Knowledge: Over 110 Blog Posts
Our blog became a hub for research and innovation, publishing 110+ posts from the RnDAO ecosystem including:
- Research papers from program participants and RnDAO researchers
- Articles on venture-building, opportunities in CollabTech, and more
- Mapped landscapes of current CollabTech apps
- Event recaps, highlights, and news from the RnDAO ecosystem
- Summaries of talks with experts & builders
Growing the CollabTech Ecosystem
RnDAO continues to grow the CollabTech ecosystem with startups tackling key collaboration challenges. This year we welcomed:
- Harmonica: Using AI to make asynchronous discussions scalable and effective.
- CollabBerry: Simplifies collaboration with three key steps: agreement setup, peer-to-peer assessment, and dynamic compensation.
- SimScore: Automatically gather input from hundreds of community members and turn it into clear, actionable priorities.
Check out all of our ventures here!
Arbitrum CollabTech Hackathon
During October, we held the Arbitrum CollabTech Hackathon, bringing together builders, entrepreneurs, designers, and researchers to create innovative projects in Collaboration Technology.
The hackathon brought together 143 builders, resulting in 20 submitted projects and 3 winning teams. Read our comprehensive impact report for more details!
- 164 applications received
- 143 participants accepted
- 20 projects created
- 15 eligible final submissions
- 3 winning teams
- $10k in prizes awarded
- 10 mentoring sessions with industry experts
- 4 specialized workshops for enhancing technical skills, project pitching, and overall project development.
Events, Talks & Workshops
RnDAO was buzzing with events in 2024, including:
- 8 RnDAO Talks (Episodes 34-41)
- Co.Lab Fellowship Demo Day with over 130 participants
- Co.Lab Venture Pitch Day
- Arbitrum CollabTech Hackathon events:
- Kick-Off with 120 active participants
- Speed Networking & Idea Brainstorming
- 2 open Office Hours
- 3 Expert Panels on CollabTech topics
- 5 community calls
- 2 Problem Statement workshops
- 4 CollabTech Speed Networking events
- 6 X Spaces on CollabTech topics
We also participated in major Web3 conference weeks such as ETHDenver, Berlin Blockchain Week, EthCC, Edge City Lanna & Devcon 7 SEA.
Arbitrum Hackathon Builder Continuation Program
Our latest big news is that our Arbitrum Hackathon Builder Continuation Program proposal has passed with significant community support!
This 6-month initiative, co-funded by RnDAO and Arbitrum, is designed to foster long-term success for emerging hackathon builders and aims to build an ecosystem of CollabTech projects that will continue to grow.
Read our blog post on how to apply, and stay tuned for updates on this program launch in Q1 2025.
Looking Ahead
As we reflect on a year of progress, we remain energized for what’s next. 2024 has shown that Collaboration Technology is a key component to unlocking a fair, equitable and innovative future - as outlined by Vitalk himself.
Here’s to 2025: another year of innovation, progress, and growth. Thank you for being a part of this journey. Together, we’re building the tools that will redefine collaboration for years to come.
Join our Discord to get involved!
🎉🎄 Happy Holidays from the RnDAO team, and wishing you a great start to the New Year!