Former Google executive Sridhar Ramaswamy is working on a Web3 search startup. His new company, nxyz, has already received $40 million in funding. The funding round was led by Paradigm. Coinbase, Sequoia and Greylock also invested.
“To me, the big advancement with a blockchain is that it introduces this idea of decentralized computation, where you’re uploading a piece of code to a blockchain and the code is running there. No one is in charge,” Ramaswamy told CNBC.
“It is decentralized storage that is owned by a collective. Plus, they also have utility in the form of a native token currency that has been designed to give incentive for the system.”
Ramaswamy served as senior vice president of Google Ads from 2013 to 2018. In 2019 he founded Neeva, an ad-free and private search engine and he will stay on as CEO while also running Neeva.
You give me Neeva
The nxyz Web3 search was developed by Neeva engineers earlier this year. The Neeva team described the nyxz search as “an experiment bringing the same user-first ethos of Neeva search to web3.”
“We realized there is limited access to fast, reliable blockchain data along with the context needed to interpret it,” wrote Neeva in a blog post. “There are so many great companies and entities building in web3, but we also heard a yearning for a simple, fast service that just works. Getting at data from the blockchain in conveniently consumable ways is still hard for too many people, including developers.”
Nxyz is geared toward crypto companies, allowing them to search through and view blockchain data. Said companies will be able to use nxyz to gain insight into potential security risks and thus significantly reduce financial losses from hackers.
New in Web3
2022 has been the most active year for Web3 development yet, according to a report from Alchemy. Emergent Entertainment recently merged game studio Maze Theory with Web3 tech company Pluto Digital PLC. Likewise, Vertu has announced the MetaVertu, which it hopes will be the first Web3 phone on the market.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
