This achievement made Iddris Sandu, the founder of Spatial Labs, the youngest black entrepreneur to raise a double-digit seed round. Marcy Venture Partners, co-founded by Jay-Z, also participated in this funding round.
Moments like these, Sandu believes, instill confidence in both founders and venture capitalists to support women and founders of color, ultimately breaking down barriers.
Spatial Labs, founded by Sandu in 2020, focuses on developing technologies with a global impact. The startup introduced LNQ, a microchip product, last year. Additionally, Sandu launched Gen One Hardwear, a clothing line embedding the LNQ microchip into each garment.
The LNQ microchip functions like a QR code, providing access to information by tapping it with a phone. It offers insights into a product’s origin, materials, sustainability, ownership history, and more.
Within a short period, Spatial Labs generated $150,000 in sales and sold out its inventory. The company has also begun licensing the chip technology to other brands for incorporation into their products. The cost of each LNQ microchip is $3, with prices varying based on the brand’s needs.
Despite the decline in overall venture funding in the U.S. in 2022, with Black founders being disproportionately affected, Sandu remains committed to his mission. He points out that for founders of color, it’s always a bear market.
In 2022, Black web3 founders received $60 million out of the $11.9 billion invested in all U.S. web3 startups. While this is a significant increase from the $16 million Black founders received in 2021, the overall percentage remains low at 1%.
Sandu acknowledges the pressure and expectations placed on founders of color but hopes his success will inspire others to believe that raising capital is achievable. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on the product’s global impact rather than just the story.
He expresses gratitude to Blockchain Capital for recognizing the revolutionary potential of Spatial Labs’ technology. Sandu sees the hardware as a critical aspect of technology’s evolution and believes that it can redefine the boundaries of what technology can achieve, particularly in terms of diversity and inclusivity.
Spatial Labs’ LNQ microchip not only emphasizes ethical sustainability but also allows brands to integrate loyalty programs and immersive storytelling experiences into their products. It offers unique and interactive ways for consumers to engage with products, creating innovative and personalized experiences.
In a tech landscape where diversity is about affording people of color opportunities to build systems originally not designed for them, Sandu sees hardware as a way to showcase the potential of technology in terms of color and race, ultimately bridging the gap and offering new possibilities.
