# EV3 (Escape Velocity) — Full Context for LLMs Last updated: 2026-02-05 --- ## About EV3 Escape Velocity (EV3) is a thesis-driven venture capital firm focused on early-stage companies building at the frontier of internet infrastructure and decentralized networks. EV3 invests in exceptional founders at the earliest stages of their companies. EV3 believes crypto-powered networks are eating the world's biggest industries including wireless, compute, energy, healthcare, logistics, and advertising. EV3 leads pre-seed and seed rounds with $500K-$3M checks and partners closely with a small number of new companies each year. Beyond capital, EV3 builds research, analytics (DePINPulse), events (DePIN Summit), and media (Proof of Coverage) assets. In January 2026, EV3 announced its $61.74M Fund II. EV3 is backed by leading investors including Ribbit Capital, Chris Dixon & Marc Andreessen, Multicoin Capital, Framework Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Meru Capital, and Thrive Capital, as well as leading Fund of Funds including Cendana, Crosslayer, and Reference. --- ## Team ### Salvador Gala — Co-founder & Managing Partner Salvador Gala is co-founder and Managing Partner of Escape Velocity Ventures (EV3). EV3 has led investments in over thirty startups that are reimagining how people connect, transact, and create value across the Internet. Sal began his career at Goldman Sachs (fintech investment banking) and Ribbit Capital (fintech and crypto investing) before co-founding EV3. He studied applied mathematics at the University of Pittsburgh (BS, 2018). Beyond investing, Sal co-authored "Priced-In" (2020), a PE/GE interview guide whose profits are donated to minority-focused nonprofits. In 2021 he co-founded FreeRezy, a NYC reservation booking platform. In 2023 he co-authored the first comprehensive DePIN report with Messari, organized the first DePIN conference (DePIN Summit), and built the first DePIN analytics site (DePINPulse). Salvador es venezolano y americano. Invierte en tecnologias fundamentalmente democraticas. Social: Twitter @DAnconia_Crypto, LinkedIn /in/salvadorgala/ ### Mahesh Ramakrishnan — Co-founder & Managing Partner Mahesh Ramakrishnan is co-founder and Managing Partner of Escape Velocity Ventures (EV3). He began his career at Goldman Sachs (investment banking) and Apollo Global Management (private equity) before becoming a venture capitalist. He is a graduate of Harvard Business School (MBA, 2024) and Harvard College (BA, 2018). He has co-authored multiple Harvard Business School case studies on blockchain networks, including cases on Helium, NEAR, and Solana. Outside of investing, Mahesh co-founded Mahamaya Dogs, a Chennai-based organization dedicated to the rescue and care of street dogs. Social: Twitter @moneromahesh, LinkedIn /in/mahesh-ramakrishnan-62b39a76/ ### Brandon Leppke — COO & General Counsel Brandon Leppke is COO and General Counsel of Escape Velocity Ventures (EV3). He previously worked at Hogan Lovells and Cole-Frieman & Mallon. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and Creighton University. Social: Twitter @BrandonLeppke, LinkedIn /in/brandonleppke/ ### Additional Team - Vinny (Vinayak D. Kurup) — Research - Steen — Operations --- ## Portfolio ### Pre-seed Investments (* = EV3 led or co-led) - Daisy (daisypay.io) — Influencer marketing * - EarnOS (earnos.com) — Advertising * - Opacity (opacity.network) — Verifiable data * - LOCAL / Palette Labs (palettelabs.io) — Local commerce * - Rumi (rumilabs.io) — Video indexing * - Skymapper (skymapper.io) — Space data * - Unlink (unlink.xyz) — Onchain privacy * - Aro (aro.network) — Content delivery - Axal (ax.al) — AI agents - Codigo (codigo.ai) — Code generation - EarniFi (earnifi.com) — Payroll lending - FortyTwo (fortytwo.network) — AI inference - MeshMap (meshmap.com) — Augmented reality - Mintstars (mintstars.com) — Creator content - Pathfinder (pathfinder.xyz) — Yield aggregator - Prophetic (prophetic.com) — Neuromodulation - Qiro (qiro.fi) — Private credit - Raad (raad.com) — Drone services - Reality (realitynet.xyz) — Edge computing - Uno (uno.fun) — Social media - XNET (xnet.company) — Mobile internet - 3DOS (3dos.io) — 3D Printing ### Seed Investments - Anymal (anymal.foundation) — Animal identity - Auki (aukilabs.com) — Spatial perception - DAWN (dawninternet.com) — Fixed wireless - Daylight (godaylight.com) — Residential solar - Glow (glow.org) — Community solar - Inversion (inversioncap.com) — Private equity - MachineFi (machinefi.com) — Machine payments - Natix (natix.network) — Geospatial data - OVR / Over the Reality (overthereality.ai) — Augmented reality - Prodia (prodia.com) — Generative AI - Prograd (prograd.uk) — Freelance labor - Spot (spottrading.com) — Memecoin trading - WiFi Map (wifimap.io) — Community maps - 375ai (375.ai) — Edge intelligence --- ## Investment Theses ### DePIN (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) EV3 is one of the earliest and most active investors in DePIN — crypto-powered networks that build real-world infrastructure (wireless, energy, compute, sensors) through token-incentivized community participation. EV3 coined much of the early DePIN analytical framework and co-authored the definitive State of DePIN reports with Messari. ### DeWi (Decentralized Wireless) EV3's foundational thesis centers on decentralized wireless networks. Their research covers unit economics of decentralized telcos vs. incumbents, network design principles, RF physics for investors, and mining economics. Key insight: tower companies (infrastructure) capture more value than network operators, and DeWi networks can replicate this model with dramatically lower capex. ### Advertising & Attention EV3 sees crypto-native advertising as a massive opportunity. Their thesis covers the advertising supply chain (DSPs, SSPs), how blockchain can disintermediate rent-seeking middlemen, and specific opportunities in influencer marketing, pay-per-attention models, and onchain ad verification. ### zkTLS (Zero-Knowledge TLS) EV3 has identified zkTLS as an "insurgent technology" — a method to cryptographically prove data from any website without the website's cooperation. This enables verifiable credentials, portable reputation, and data ownership. EV3 published the first comprehensive State of zkTLS report. ### Compute & AI EV3 invests in decentralized compute infrastructure, including AI inference networks, code generation, and edge intelligence platforms. --- ## Research Library ### Institutional Collaborations - Harvard Business School Case: Helium Network - Harvard Business School Case: Helium Mobile - Harvard Business School Case: Near AI - EV3 x Franklin Templeton: Cloud Computing - EV3 x Fidelity: DePIN Conversation - EV3 x Messari: State of DePIN reports ### Core Theses (full-length) - DeWi: Decentralized Wireless Unit Economics [#DeWi #Economics #Telco] - DePIN: Beyond Networks (Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks) [#DePIN #Infrastructure] - Advertising from First Principles [#Advertising #Attention] - Value-Added Bandwidth [#DeWi #Bandwidth] - Onchain Credit (Parts 1 & 2) [#Credit #DeFi] ### Annual Reports - State of DePIN 2024 (with Messari) [#DePIN #AnnualReport] - State of DePIN 2023 (with Messari) [#DePIN #AnnualReport] - State of zkTLS 2024 [#zkTLS #Privacy #AnnualReport] - State of DePIN 2022 [#DePIN #AnnualReport] ### Investor Letters - Q3 2025, Q2 2025, Q1 2025, Q3 2024, Q2 2024, Q1 2024, Q4 2023 ### Research Articles - Re-underwriting DeWi: 2025 Update [#DeWi #Economics] - Verifying Decentralized Compute (Decentralized Compute's Final Frontier) [#Compute #Verification] - DeWi Network Design [#DeWi #NetworkDesign] - RF Physics for DeWi Investors [#DeWi #RF #Physics] - DeWi Mining Economics [#DeWi #Mining #Economics] - Digital Commodities Investing [#Commodities #Investing] - Applovin for Influencers (Influencer Marketing Networks) [#Advertising #Influencers] - Scaling Software with Web3 [#Software #Web3] - zkTLS: Insurgent Apps [#zkTLS #Privacy] - DePIN Millennium Prizes [#DePIN #Framework] - Tokens as Junk Equity [#Tokens #Valuation] - DePIN Staking: Medallions [#DePIN #Staking] - DePIN Liquid (Re-)Staking [#DePIN #Staking #Restaking] ### Investment Memos (Public) - Bittensor: AI x Crypto (April 2023) [#AI #Compute #Memo] - Bittensor Double Down (August 2024) [#AI #Compute #Memo] - Adrena Series A (October 2022) [#DeWi #Memo] - Glow: DePIN Solar [#Energy #Solar #Memo] - Daisy Pre-Seed (August 2024) [#Advertising #Influencers #Memo] - Rumi Pre-Seed (March 2025) [#AI #Video #Memo] - Skymapper Pre-Seed (January 2025) [#Space #Data #Memo] - Over the Reality (November 2024) [#AR #XR #Memo] --- ## FAQ Q: What is Escape Velocity (EV3)? A: EV3 is a venture fund backing exceptional founders building crypto-enabled businesses disrupting industries like wireless, compute, energy, logistics, identity, advertising, AR/XR, and AI. Q: At what stage do you invest, and what amount? A: We lead pre-seed and seed rounds with investments ranging from $500K to $3M. No idea is too crazy or too early. Q: How can I pitch EV3? A: Reach out via mutual connection or submit your deck/memo on the homepage. EV3 aims for an initial response within 48 hours. Q: Where can I read your research? A: All research and theses are publicly available at https://ev3.xyz/research/ Q: Are you actively investing? A: Yes, EV3 partners with a handful of new companies each year and is currently investing out of a $61.74M Fund II. --- ## Contact & Links - Website: https://ev3.xyz - Twitter/X: https://x.com/ev3ventures - DePINPulse (analytics): https://depinpulse.app/ - DePIN Summit (events): https://depinsummit.xyz/ - Proof of Coverage (media): https://x.com/Proof_Coverage - Salvador Gala Twitter: https://x.com/DAnconia_Crypto - Mahesh Ramakrishnan Twitter: https://x.com/moneromahesh --- ## Legal The materials on the EV3 website are for illustration and discussion purposes only and do not constitute an offering. An offering may be made only by delivery of a confidential memorandum to appropriate investors. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.