tomi secures $40M in funding to build a surveillance-free alternative internet controlled by the community

Over the past few years, we’ve seen big tech companies working with governments to censor free speech and information on the internet. The modern internet, spearheaded by industry giants such as Google and Facebook, was originally designed to grant users unrestricted access to information and freedom of expression.

However, as time has passed, the internet has fallen victim to censorship and surveillance by both governments and corporations, resulting in increasingly stringent restrictions on what can be accessed and expressed.

Although certain alternative internet options exist to protect users’ privacy and ensure uncensored information access, the “dark web” networks that emerge from such options often harbor illicit activities. This has prompted Google to introduce a new tool for One users that monitors the dark web for any instances of their personal data being sold. It’s for this reason that a group of tech veterans is trying to build an alternative internet controlled by the community designed to promote a free economy, free speech, a free web, and a free world.

Enter tomi, an alternative internet network led by an anonymous group of eight senior crypto veterans. tomi offers a DAO-governed, surveillance-free alternative to the World Wide Web. tomi also offers tomiNet which leverages DAO governance to foster community-driven censorship of the more illicit activities that run rampant on the most prominent alternative internet networks today.

Today, tomi announced it has closed a $40 million for its DAO-governed alternative internet network in a funding round led by DWF Labs. Ticker Capital, Piha Equities, Japanese crypto whale and community leader Hirokado Kohji, with participation from additional private investors also participated in the round. tomi will leverage the funding to court content creators for its network.

Tomi is launching an alternative internet network, governed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), that champions freedom of speech and unrestricted access to information. The funds raised will be used to attract prominent content creators and publishers to the network, guaranteeing users secure access to high-quality content.

Additionally, the team is developing a fairer monetization system that allows creators to concentrate on producing content without distractions from sponsorships or ads. The funding will also support the development of technology aimed at safeguarding the privacy of tomiPAY users and tomiDAO members.

The community-driven tomiDAO oversees the alternative network and decides on proposals ranging from code changes to censoring content that fails to meet the community’s standards. The DAO will vote against content that contains terrorism, child pornography, and other forms of violence, as outlined in the community guidelines.

“We are thrilled to invest in tomi, a revolutionary project that aims to provide a truly free and open internet experience. With its DAO-governed alternative network, tomi is paving the way for a censorship-free environment where users can access high-quality content without compromising their privacy. We believe that the team’s commitment to fair monetization and development of technologies ensuring privacy will make tomi the go-to destination for content creators and users alike. We look forward to seeing tomi’s impact on the internet landscape and are excited to be a part of this journey.” said Andrei Grachev, Managing Partner of DWF Labs.

“I am thrilled to be part of this funding round and eager to witness the impact tomi will make,” says Hirokado Kohji. “As an investor, my focus is not only on providing financial support, but also fostering growth and expansion in the Asian market. With that in mind, I am committed to working with tomi to ensure its success and wider adoption in this region.”

Piha Equities: “We are thrilled to join the tomi family and support its innovative approach to internet governance. We look forward to seeing tomiNET grow and evolve, and we believe in its potential to create a fairer and more secure internet for everyone.”

Ticker Capital: “At Ticker Capital, we seek out early-stage blockchain projects with the potential to disrupt existing industries. We see great potential for tomiNET to attract top-tier content creators and publishers.”