Gajesh Naik, who is a DeFi developer from India, was able to raise $300,000 in pre-seed funding for his latest DeFi protocol project called ‘Taksh’.
The 13-year-old had earlier made headlines this year when his first DeFi project, Gaj Finance, managed around $1 million in cryptocurrency.
According to Naik, Taksh is a DeFi protocol launched in 2021 on the Avalanche blockchain. It aims to provide users a reward system to help them maximize their yields and savings through compounding rewards and yield farming.
About the funding
In an interview with Blockworks, he stated, “My goal with funding is to get investors who can advise me on how I should grow the project and also kick-start hiring and other marketing activities.”
The pre-seed funding round was backed by Frontier founder Ravindra Kumar and several undisclosed investors. According to Naik, the money raised will go toward further developing the project and audits.
He stated, “I can’t use centralized exchanges and because of my age I am unable to sign contracts, therefore smart contracts have enabled me to raise funding, despite my age.” This is true because smart contracts allow investors to provide capital, automate and execute agreements without intermediaries.
Naik explained that he believes smart contracts will open doors for many other pre-teens like him and there will be no restrictions for creativity to blossom no matter what the age. He added, “In the past, I have faced my share of trolling and disbelief. However, a large community has been very supportive and kind.”
Gajesh Naik
Gajesh Naik made headlines earlier this year after it was shared that his first DeFi project, Gaj Finance, managed around $1 million in cryptocurrency.
The now 13-year-old developer started coding at seven, but recently became interested in crypto when he attended a blockchain workshop a year ago, he said.
He started off learning Solidity, the object-oriented coding language for Ethereum-based smart contracts, and dove into the deep waters of Web3 afterward. He stated, “to gain more experience and exposure, I did some freelancing before launching my first project Gaj Finance, formerly PolyGaj, in April 2021. During that time I also relaunched my YouTube channel where I helped people to learn about crypto, blockchain, and coding.”
Following this pre-seed round, Naik plans on raising a seed round and launching a public sale through an initial DEX offering (IDO). He stated, “I want to keep on building. I want to learn as much as I can. My dream is to build innovative DeFi and NFT products.”
Going forward, aside from building, Naik explained that he also wants to have fun and at the same time wants to learn from the leaders in the crypto space and work with them.
