The Layer-1 platform developed by former Facebook employees, Aptos Labs, continues to scale the process of providing billions of people access to decentralized assets. The Aptos Labs team introduced their new global advisors on May 9, including former Vice President of Corporate Development at Google, David Lawee. Lawee, founder of Alphabet’s independent growth equity fund Capital G, will use the Web2 consumer experience to introduce the blockchain network to the mainstream.
A Significant Move by Aptos Labs
Lawee, along with Conde Nast Global’s Chief Revenue Officer Pamela Drucker Mann and Stanford University Computer Science Professor Dan Boneh, is joining Aptos’ advisory board. While Mann focuses on strengthening Aptos Labs’ ecosystem culture, Boneh will provide research on cryptography and cybersecurity to enhance infrastructure and security. Lawee stated:
“Aptos Labs clearly supports the mission of expanding access to financial empowerment, digital experiences, and social connections on a global scale. I look forward to working closely with this thoughtful, advanced technology team to bring Web3 to the masses.”
In recent years, Lawee, with his role at CapitalG, has increasingly turned towards the cryptocurrency industry. In 2021, CapitalG formed a partnership with Digital Currency Group (DCG), a major cryptocurrency company founded by CEO Barry Silbert. In a blog post in November 2021, Lawee wrote:
“We believe DCG will be among the few true leaders shaping the crypto industry. We are excited to invest in them and partner with them on their significant journey of transforming crypto.”
What’s Happening at the Aptos Front?
Lawee’s post came about a year before the crypto industry faced a major outbreak leading to bankruptcies of firms like Three Arrows Capital (3AC) and impacting firms like DCG. This process led to significant financial troubles for DCG and some of its subsidiaries like Genesis Global filed for bankruptcy in January 2023.
Continuing his Web3 journey, Lawee’s Aptos, founded in 2021 by Mohammad Shaikh and Avery Ching, operates the native token Aptos, which, according to CoinGecko at the time of writing, has a market value of $3.6 billion, making it the 31st largest cryptocurrency.
Since its launch, Aptos has raised $350 million from investors including the venture capital arms of exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, as well as bankrupt firms such as 3AC and FTX.
