Tim Draper Joins Board of EOS-Based Messaging Dapp MakeSense

Venture capitalist Tim Draper, an early investor in Tesla, Skype, and Baidu, has joined the board of MakeSense Labs, the provider of a messaging app built on the EOS blockchain.

Announced Monday, the appointment follows the August launch of the startup's Sense.Chat on iOS and Android.

Since 2014, Draper has made headlines through his active investments in the crypto industry, including leading financing rounds in Coinbase and Ledger, and purchasing 30,000 bitcoin at a government auction. In October 2014, Draper predicted bitcoin would rise in price to $10,000 within three years. (It took two months longer than that to happen.)

“We are very excited to have Tim’s support and advice. He’s been a massively important and pivotal figure in technology, and recently in the blockchain. He’s everything we want to emulate in our leadership – he’s creative, supportive, and passionate,” said Ben Sigman, CTO of Sense.Chat.

Sense.Chat allows EOS accounts to message and send funds to one another on mobile devices, without having a counterparty’s phone number or email address. The messages remain private and secure through public-key encryption.

“The world is becoming decentralized. I am excited to support this amazing application. Sense.Chat improves human connections by allowing private, seamless messaging and payments,” Draper said in the announcement.

Draper previously staked an undisclosed amount in Make.Sense Labs' parent company, Sensay, through his venture capital firm Draper Associates.

He also serves as headmaster at Draper University, a school for entrepreneurship.

Tim Draper photo via CoinDesk Archives