Upside DAO
also invests · investor profile3 known investors
Australian private investment DAO and incubator backing local founders building global Web3 companies.
Also known as 0xUpside · Upside · UpsideDAO
Investors · 3
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Upside DAO is a private investment decentralised autonomous organisation and incubator based in Australia whose members are Australian crypto and Web3 founders. It invests in early-stage Web3 startups, operates a physical co-working space, connects founders of established projects with new teams, consults to crypto projects and hosts member events. Its stated purpose is to support Australian founders in building global Web3 organisations, reinvesting capital, capabilities and connections into the Australian ecosystem.
The organisation was formed as a DAO rather than a traditional corporation: it pools and deploys capital through a blockchain, avoids centralised leadership, and uses tokens to represent member voting rights. DAO members are organised into work groups aligned to areas of Web3 expertise such as DeFi, NFTs and GameFi. Target project categories include DeFi, DAOs, GameFi, the metaverse, Web3 tooling and infrastructure protocols.
Founding story
At the beginning of 2022, Apollo Crypto, Caleb & Brown, Virtually Human Studio (ZedRun) and Holger Arians, chief executive of Banxa, developed a plan to create a crypto-native investment DAO to incubate local talent and support the next generation of Web3 projects in Melbourne. That plan became Upside DAO, which was reported as founded in 2022 and went live in October of that year.
Business model
Upside DAO pools capital from its member founders into a unit trust and deploys it as investments into early-stage Web3 startups, alongside non-capital support in the form of coaching, consulting, introductions and co-working space.
Traction
The DAO raised $5 million and, as of its October 2022 launch announcement, had backed five early-stage Web3 projects and announced the first recipients of its investment funding. Its workspace hosted DAO members and businesses including Apollo Crypto, Mirror Planet, Helix Collective, Possible Ventures, Perion, Solv Protocol, Cadena Legal and ZedRun.
Latest developments
Upside DAO announced in October 2022 that it had completed its $5 million raise, opened its co-working space and named the first recipients of its investment funding.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Upside DAO positions itself as a crypto-native investment DAO and incubator focused on the Australian Web3 ecosystem, which sources describe as having produced projects including Synthetix, Rocket Pool, Ren, THORchain, Immutable, Illuvium and Stepn.
The DAO combines member capital from established Australian Web3 founders with a physical incubator floor, coaching, consulting and network access, and governs investment decisions through token-based member voting rather than centralised management.
Technology
The DAO uses blockchain-based structures to organise members, pool capital and deploy investments, with tokens representing member voting rights in place of centralised leadership.
Go-to-market
Members are drawn from Australia's Web3 founder community and organised into expertise-based work groups; the DAO sources and supports portfolio companies through its Melbourne co-working floor, member networks and events.
Early-stage Web3 startups and founders, with a focus on Australia, working in DeFi, DAOs, GameFi, the metaverse, Web3 tooling and infrastructure protocols.
Geography
Australia-focused, with a physical co-working space in Melbourne; the launch event was held in Cremorne, Victoria.
History
Upside DAO was conceived in early 2022 by a group of Australian crypto industry participants and raised $5 million into a unit trust from its founders and DAO members to start operations and investments. The raise and the first recipients of its investment funding were announced in late October 2022, and the DAO held a launch party in Cremorne on 21 October 2022 attended by DAO members and the wider Australian Web3 community.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsUpside DAO held a launch party in Cremorne to mark the completed raise and the opening of its physical workspace, attended by most DAO members and the wider Australian Web3 community.
Upside DAO announced it had raised $5 million in capital, held in a unit trust contributed by its founders and DAO members, to deploy into Web3 startups with a focus on Australia, and named the first recipients of its investment funding.
$5M source ↗
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Upside DAO Is Live! - Apollo Cryptoapollocrypto.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Upside DAO do?
- Australian private investment DAO and incubator backing local founders building global Web3 companies.
- Who are Upside DAO's investors?
- Upside DAO's investors include Yolo Investments.