Escape Velocity (EV3): DePIN Use Cases, Markets, and Progress with Salvador Gala

Alex Nwaka sits down with Salvador Gala, Co-Founder of Escape Velocity (EV3), to discuss Sal’s journey from traditional finance at Goldman Sachs and Ribbit Capital to building a leading Web3 venture firm focused on DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network). Sal shares insights into the potential of DePIN, the challenges and opportunities in building decentralized infrastructure, and real-world applications across compute, mapping, energy, and more.

Episode Overview

• Sal Gala’s transition from traditional finance at Goldman Sachs and Ribbit Capital to Web3 venture and founding Escape Velocity (EV3).
• EV3’s focus on DePIN and its role in the Web3 ecosystem.
• Real-world use cases of DePIN such as solar energy, compute, and mapping.
• Challenges in investing in hardware and how DePIN addresses coordination and cost barriers.

"I think we'll see similar things for energy, like solar panels. They work and they're cheap and there's this massive, massive global industry capable of producing them at huge scale. They've never really been able to find their true potential because there's all these coordination issues within the solar supply chain across financing or the incentives of getting someone to install it and be responsible for it or take a risk if it doesn't last for 20 years. What crypto can do is take the solar panels that already worked and actually unlock them basically and create these huge global networks of it." 

- Salvador Gala, Co-Founder, Escape Velocity (EV3)

• Differentiation between crypto-native funds, institutional hybrid approaches, and traditional VC.
• The potential for interoperability and composability in DePIN networks to drive efficiency and innovation.
• The integration of AI and DePIN, exploring opportunities at the intersection of these technologies.
• The challenges of raising a first-time crypto venture fund and positioning Escape Velocity in the ecosystem.
• Sal's High Stakes Hot Take for the remainder of 2024, heading into 2025.

About Validation Cloud

Validation Cloud is a Web3 data streaming and infrastructure company that connects organizations into Web3 through a fast, scalable, and intelligent platform. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Validation Cloud offers highly performant and customizable products in staking, node, and data-as-a-service. Learn more at Validationcloud.io | LinkedIn | X | Podcast