Calaxy wants creators to become more independent.
As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Calaxy is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur Solo Ceesay and NBA star Spencer Dinwiddie. It serves as a social marketplace where users can create more meaningful experiences to engage their fans. With the added benefit of direct-to-consumer monetization, Calaxy eliminates the need to rely solely on brand and advertising deals.
In 2022, Calaxy raised $26 million in a funding round led by The HBAR Foundation and Animoca Brands, with participation from Polygon. A portion of the funding was dedicated to expanding into the Web3 space.
Calaxy has since developed “Worlds, ” allowing creators on the decentralized social marketplace to customize no-code apps. These apps enable creators to set up shops to sell subscriptions and digital experiences directly to fans and customers, otherwise known as the “population.” Additionally, creators can access wallets that store cryptocurrencies and NFTs, according to information shared with AFROTECH™.
“At Calaxy, we don’t see creators as just creators, they’re legitimate businesses. Worlds are the platform creators can funnel their audience and retain complete control without having to appeal to the guidelines and desires of the platforms they use,” Ceesay told AFROTECH™.
All in all, Calaxy’s goal is to “free the internet, one World at a time,” achieving this through true ownership.”
“Ownership is unbelievably important given just how much ‘value’ and IP that is being created daily, yet only the platforms benefit, forcing content creators to rely on these platforms to ‘equitably’ redistribute capital,” Ceesay explained. “Centralized control of the timeline inevitably creates in-and-out groups, which almost always disproportionately hurts creatives that lie outside the norm. This is a direct attack on one’s creative freedoms as creators are incentivized to make content for the timeline rather than make content they’re passionate about.”
With this in mind, Calaxy is committed to shifting power back to creators, ensuring they have greater control over their work and its value. On March 10, 2025, at SXSW in Austin, TX, it was announced that Calaxy launched the “It’s Your World” fund, which will provide $1 million in capital to empower 50 creators in the Web3 space.
Recipients, set to be announced at SXSW London in June, will each receive $20,000, along with “milestone-based incentives” and “monetization opportunities,” per the press release.
“The proliferation of content creators building their own creative empires where creators can more effectively engage, monetize, and mobilize their communities will be the biggest indicator of success. Platform user and revenue growth are also reasonable measures of success; however, Calaxy’s main mission is to kickstart a creative renaissance where creators effectively capitalize on the audiences they’ve built over the years,” Ceesay mentioned. “What’s also important to us is the creator’s ability to shift from a platform-dependent creator mindset to an independent CEO mindset. Our intention with this fund is to support creators’ sustainability and set a new tone for what it means to be in the creator economy.”
