dao5 is a crypto venture platform built to back research-driven founders at seed and pre-seed and then progressively decentralize ownership. Launched in 2022 by Tekin Salimi, dao5 invests in core Web3 infrastructure, security and cryptography, developer tooling, and other primitives that other builders can compose on. The firm operates with a simple idea: invest early, support deeply, and convert the management entity into a community-governed DAO after the initial investment period, aligning incentives among investors, founders, and users.

In 2025, dao5 expanded its capital base with a follow-on vehicle of approximately $222 million and continues to source opportunities through university labs, independent researchers, and mission-driven teams. Portfolio highlights include networks exploring new consensus and incentive designs. The team partners with founders on governance architecture, token design, treasury policy, and responsible decentralization, drawing on legal, technical, and market experience. dao5 values integrity, curiosity, and long-horizon thinking, and prefers missionaries over mercenaries. The result is a portfolio oriented toward durable protocols rather than short-term trends.

For founders, dao5 offers concentrated conviction, early product and protocol feedback, and access to a global peer network. For communities, dao5 strives to model fair ownership and transparent stewardship as projects and ecosystems scale and transparent governance.

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