Published via Ecency

https://www.teleport.xyz/
https://www.trip.dev/

The Teleport and Trip Protocol is a decentralized engineering project aimed at creating an alternative to traditional ridesharing services like Uber, but built on the Solana blockchain. The Decentralized Engineering Corporation (DEC), maker of The Rideshare Protocol (TRIP), has raised $9 million in seed funding for this project. TRIP is designed to power various future ridesharing apps by providing a decentralized protocol where app makers can create a marketplace connecting drivers and passengers without centralized control.

Teleport, being built as the first application of this framework, is intended to function similarly to Uber or Lyft, offering seamless onboarding for riders and drivers. Notably, it does not require crypto for transactions; riders can pay with a credit card or the USDC stablecoin, and drivers can be paid in USDC or directly to a standard bank account.

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^{Source: Trip Protocol Whitepaper}

The full rollout of the service is estimated to take six to nine months, with a gradual process of decentralization. The model has already attracted interest from companies and car fleet operators for developing their own apps using TRIP, similar to what DEC is doing with Teleport.

This project highlights the expanding use of blockchain technology in practical applications beyond financial transactions, showing how decentralized solutions can be applied to everyday services like ridesharing.

Funding

The seed funding round for the development of the Teleport and Trip (TRIP) Protocol on Solana was co-led by Foundation Capital and Road Capital.

Other participants included Thursday Ventures, 6th Man Ventures, 305 Ventures, and Common Metal. Notable individual strategic investors in the project included Ryan McKillen, the third-ever employee at Uber, social media influencer Jake Paul, Flexport founder Ryan Petersen, and Farcaster co-founder Dan Romero.