Hong Kong-based Web3 social company Sleek has announced a significant leap in the digital knowledge marketplace with a successful $5 million seed funding round. This move positions Sleek at the forefront of transforming how expertise is shared and monetized in the digital realm.

A Notable Entry in Crypto Social Startups

Sleek’s funding round places it among the notable crypto social startups this week, as reported by CryptoRank. The company’s journey includes previous backing from Binance Labs, achieved through its 2022 incubation program.

Revolutionizing Networking and Knowledge Sharing

Earlier in 2023, Sleek introduced innovative business cards capable of sharing Telegram contacts and displaying NFTs when near a phone. This feature was part of Sleek's active participation in crypto conferences, highlighting its focus on enhancing in-person networking experiences.

Towards a Tokenized Knowledge Marketplace

With the fresh capital, Sleek is set to launch a marketplace for domain experts in early 2024. The platform aims to transform the abundant online educational content into "liquid and accessible assets," addressing the challenges faced by online creators in monetizing their expertise.

Reimagining Content Monetization

Sleek’s platform will utilize bonding curves, similar to those on Friend.tech, for video content or interactions with creators. This system is expected to benefit educational creators who invest significant time in producing long-form content on other platforms.

SocialFi and the Creator Economy

The upcoming platform is Sleek's contribution to the burgeoning SocialFi space, striving to optimize the monetization of the creator economy. This approach aligns with the efforts of other social apps like Phaver and RepubliK, which also recently secured seed funding for similar initiatives.

Capturing a Fragmented Market

Sleek recognizes the potential in knowledge-based businesses, including research firms and expert networks, which collectively generate over $100 billion in annual revenue. The company plans to address the market fragmentation and inefficiencies by providing streamlined discovery and distribution channels for experts across various domains, including technology, arts, and business.

Updated Insights

As of November 17, 2023, it has been clarified that Binance’s investment in Sleek was part of an incubation program, separate from the seed round funding.