NCent Labs

About NCent Labs

NCent Labs, founded in 2017 by Kapil "KK" Jain, is a Stanford University spin-out operating in the decentralized internet and blockchain technology sector. The company is based in Redwood City, California, and was launched out of stealth mode in July 2017 during a fireside chat with tech investor Steve Jurvetson. Kapil Jain, a former Stanford Professor in Computational Finance who also managed quantitative hedge funds, serves as the founder and lead developer. The team also includes Rajeev Surati, a PhD from MIT, as a backend and core developer, and Michael Barile, formerly of Google and Uber, handling Partnerships & App Development.

The firm is developing a decentralized protocol for creating "incentive markets" designed to reward individuals and groups for collaboratively solving complex problems. The core of its business is a proprietary base-layer blockchain protocol, built independently from established platforms like Ethereum, that aims to efficiently create and manage large-scale incentive programs. This protocol tracks provenance through network tokens, called NCNT, ensuring correct and transparent payouts. The business model is centered on enabling other companies and organizations to build applications on top of this protocol. Use cases outlined by the company include talent recruitment, brand activation, and fostering fan engagement for sports teams.

NCent's protocol uses recursive incentives to propagate referrals and information virally through a network. For example, in a recruitment scenario, a company can issue stamped tokens to a target group. Individuals can either apply for the job to receive a bonus or pass the token to someone else in their network who might be a better fit, creating a chain of referrals. This mechanism is intended to "commodify customer acquisition" and allow the best products or services to gain prominence. The company has engaged with the academic and developer community through initiatives like yCent and nGage, which provide funding, mentorship, and resources to entrepreneurs and students building on the nCent platform.

Financially, NCent Labs has secured significant seed funding from a notable list of investors. The company raised $650K in a seed round on November 30, 2017, with backing from institutional investors such as Winklevoss Capital, Lemniscap, and Signia Venture Partners. Reports also indicate a larger seed round of approximately $10 million in 2018, with investors including Sequoia, Naval Ravikant, SV Angel, Floodgate, and MetaStable.