Grace Ashiru
Spatial Labs, a hardware and infrastructure company for web3 based in Los Angeles, has closed a $10 million seed funding round led by Blockchain Capital. This money will be used to develop new products and help the company grow.
Marcy Venture Partners, an investment firm co-founded by the musician and businessman Jay-Z, was also a part of the round.
Iddris Sandu, a 25-year-old entrepreneur from Ghana who lives in California, started Spatial Labs in 2021. The company makes embedded microchip hardware called LNQ that lets users check the history and origin of an item, usually a piece of clothing. Tapping the LNQ chip with a phone unlocked online and in-person experiences, like virtual concerts, almost like a QR code.
The new fund will be used to scale and diversify its tech stack and grow beyond consumer products into other industries, such as media and entertainment.
TechCrunch says that Sandu is one of the youngest Black men to raise a seed round with more than 10 people. Crunchbase data shows that only 1% of all VC funds went to Black founders last year. Of the $21.5 billion raised by web3 startups worldwide last year, $60 million went to U.S.-based Black web3 founders, one of whom was Sandu.
