Proof of Learn (POL), a Web 3 ”learn-to-earn” platform, has raised $15 million in a funding round that was led by venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.
- Proof of Learn will use the funding to spread awareness among users, and it will give users access to Web 3 employers through a careers marketplace, while letting them earn cryptocurrency and non-fungible token (NFT) rewards as they learn.
- Other investors in the funding round included Animoca Brands, GoldenTree Asset Management, gumi Cryptos Capital and Infinity Ventures Crypto.
- POL was co-founded by Filipino-American entrepreneur Sheila Lirio Marcelo, the former CEO and founder of Care.com. POL will launch its first project in mid-2022.
- ”The global demand for accessible and affordable education has created a massive opportunity for Proof of Learn to make learning scalable with a new decentralized model for people around the world,” said Tony Florence, a managing general partner at New Enterprise Associates.
- New Enterprise Associates said it has been making numerous investments in the education and crypto sectors, including investing in online learning platforms Coursera, MasterClass, Everfi and DesireToLearn as well as in crypto exchange FTX, fintech MoonPay, NFT marketplace OpenSea and Royal.
- There has been growing interest in Web 3, which is the third generation of internet services that has been made possible by decentralized networks.
- Most recently, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey publicly sparred with venture capitalists over Web 3. Dorsey stated in a tweet on Dec. 20 ”that VCs, not users" control Web 3, thus making it a “centralized entity with a different label.”
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