Solana Labs Unveils New 25,000 Square Foot, 4-Story Community Office Space in Lower Manhattan

Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, and Tech:NYC to co-host a ribbon cutting with policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, and operators

NEW YORK, May 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Solana Labs, which builds technology for the high-performance and carbon-neutral Solana blockchain, will unveil its new office space in Lower Manhattan. The office is a space for projects from the Solana blockchain ecosystem to co-work and host events.

New York City Economic Development Corporation  President & CEO Andrew Kimball, New York City Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser, and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine will kick off the event with a few words, followed by a ribbon cutting to celebrate the new office space. Tech:NYC is co-hosting the event with Solana Labs and Solana Foundation.

Other members from the local tech and business community in attendance include:

• Solana Foundation Executive Director Dan Albert
• Helium Foundation COO Scott Sigel
• Tech:NYC President & Executive Director Julie Samuels
• Pursuit CEO & Co-Founder Jukay Hsu
• Boba Guys Co-Founder Bin Chen
• Several New York City Council Members and state legislators

The four-story high-tech glass-enclosed office space sits at the intersection of Soho, the East Village, and the Lower East Side. Three of the four floors are reserved for web3 companies building in the Solana ecosystem to co-work, collaborate, and host events. Solana ecosystem teams can apply to work in the space, and when selected they will receive deskspace at no cost.

As part of the event, several New York-based Solana ecosystem companies will demo their work. Civic leaders will also have the chance to interact with Solana-based experiences including: Solana Pay, receiving an NFT, playing a blockchain-based game, and learning about technology to protect consumers and counter illicit activity. Representatives from organizations including 6th Man Ventures, Empire State Development Corporation, Phantom, Floor, Blockchain Association, and Exchange Art will be in attendance. During the event, artwork will be displayed by NFT artists Hanaknight, JT Liss, and Adam Ape.

"New York City has all the ingredients to be the global epicenter of web3. It has the arts, culture, innovation, technology, and talent. It's exciting to see the Solana community plant a flag right here in New York and let the world know the city is the place to build in blockchain," said New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President & CEO Andrew Kimball.

"As a global hub for emerging tech, New York City is committed to creating an immersive environment for Web3 companies to grow and innovate. We are excited by the vast potential benefits this technology offers New Yorkers – democratizing access to finance for unbanked residents, enhancing the delivery of digital services, and reducing the amount of time necessary to complete processes such as document verification and benefits delivery. I welcome the Solana community to New York City and look forward to working with them," said New York City Chief Technology Officer Matthew Fraser.

"The New York office shows our commitment to fostering the crypto ecosystem in New York. At a time when most are shying away from office space, we're doubling down and making sure early-stage entrepreneurs have a place to build and collaborate," said Raj Gokal, co-founder of Solana Labs.

"Seeing a tech company bet big on the future of New York City is always an encouraging sign, but when that company is a global leader in web3 and building tech that the next generation of world-changing startups will be founded on, the expansion takes on an entirely new meaning. We congratulate Solana Labs for planting roots here in NYC, and for building the kind of community office space that embodies the collaboration and creative spirit that sets New York apart from other tech hubs around the world," said Julie Samuels, President & Executive Director of Tech:NYC.

"New York is the perfect place to build our Web3 company. We work with brands big and small, from NFT projects such as Claynosaurz all the way to Tommy Hilfiger, so being in the culture capital of the world is a huge advantage for us. I'm proud to show off our technology to our civic leaders and help them understand the potential impact of what we're building–both for the economy and for the creatives and entertainers we work with," said Jason Desimone, who will demo the Rove World app, an NFT-based ticketing and loyalty rewards program that he is the founder of.

"There are already thousands of Helium operators across all 5 boroughs of New York City providing wireless coverage. I'm excited to have the chance to share what the Helium community has built in the last few years with policymakers, brainstorm ideas for expediting smart city initiatives like flood detection, and explore opportunities to close the digital divide with cellular," said Scott Sigel, COO of the Helium Foundation.

About Solana Labs
Solana Labs is a technology company that builds products, tools, and reference implementations to further expand the Solana ecosystem.

About Solana Foundation
The Solana Foundation is a non-profit foundation based in Zug, Switzerland, dedicated to the decentralization, adoption, and security of the Solana ecosystem. For more information, please visit https://solana.org/.

About Solana
Solana is a global state machine, and the world's most performant blockchain. It gives developers the confidence to build for the long term by delivering predictable scaling without compromising security or composability. Solana's performance is driven by a single global state, which is capable of processing tens of thousands of smart contracts at once, and by Proof of History, a distributed clock that unlocks low-latency, sub-second finality across the global state. To learn more, please visit https://solana.com/.

About Tech:NYC:
Tech:NYC is an engaged network of tech leaders working to foster a dynamic, diverse, and creative New York. Tech:NYC brings together New Yorkers to support a successful technology ecosystem, attract and retain top-tier talent, and celebrate New York and the companies it calls home.

SOURCE Solana Labs