Sandeep Nailwal is an Indian software developer, the co-founder of Polygon Labs,[1] the founder of the COVID-Crypto Relief Fund[2] and Sentient.[3]

Early life and education

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Nailwal was born in the Nainital district of Kumaon in the state of Uttarakhand, India, on 2 July 1987.[4][5] He attended the Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology (MAIT) college in Delhi, where he undertook a computer science and engineering degree.[4] While studying at university, he worked on voter analysis for the BJP.[4] After working for a short time, he returned to his studies and attended the Indian Institute of Management to undertake an MBA.[4]

Career

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In 2016, Nailwal founded a blockchain startup called Scope Weaver and became well known as a forum moderator for Ethereum.[4] In 2017, Nailwal co-founded the Polygon (blockchain) (formerly Matic Network), a platform for scaling Ethereum and developing infrastructure.[6] By 2023, it had reached US$451 million in funding.[6] He set up the company to solve Ethereum transaction and scalability issues. Its clients include Meta, Reddit, and JP Morgan Chase.[7] Nailwal's goal was to help Indian developers in the Web3 space lead the way in developing new protocols.

In early November 2023, Polygon Labs announced Polygon Village, a grant for developers to build apps in its ecosystem. The company offered 110 million of its native token, Matic, to projects in finance, gaming and social media.[7] Polygon Village offers support in the form of guidance, mentorship, co-working spaces and networking opportunities, as well as a grant.[7] In 2021, Sandeep set up the COVID-Crypto Relief Fund to expedite the deployment of vaccines across India during the pandemic.[2][8]

Personal life

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He currently lives in Dubai and is married with children.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Moorty, Swathy (2022-12-07). "'We did not see it coming': Polygon's founder Sandeep Nailwal on FTX collapse". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  2. ^ a b "India Covid Crypto Relief Fund to donate $15 million to UNICEF". The Economic Times. 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  3. ^ Pereira, Ana Paula (2024-07-02). "Sentient closes $85M seed round for open-source AI". Cointelegraph. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Slumdog billionaire: Incredible rags-to-riches tale of Polygon's Sandeep Nailwal". Cointelegraph. 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  5. ^ "Faces of crypto: Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal". Coin Loan. 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  6. ^ a b Gupta, Paromita (2023-12-22). "Being a huge economy, regulations is a big problem for India in Web3 space". Entrepreneur (magazine). Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  7. ^ a b c Khanwalkar, Vaibhavi (2023-12-05). "Want India to lead protocol development in Web3, says Polygon's Sandeep Nailwal". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
  8. ^ Bambysheva, Nina (2021-05-12). "Ethereum's Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Donates Over $1 Billion To India Covid Relief Fund And Other Charities". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-22.