Dubai, United Arab Emirates | September 08, 2023 07:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time

The company previously known as First Stage Labs is rebranding as  (TOP) today. This strategic move aligns the name and mission of the company with those of its blockchain partner, TON Foundation. The business will be restructured as part of the rebrand. This will include merging with the team behind Wallet, the crypto application seamlessly integrated into Telegram Messenger.

TOP is committed to putting Web3 into the pockets of people worldwide, fostering genuine ownership, and creating new economies through the massive distribution and radical simplification of blockchain services. Wallet will lay the foundation to make this vision a reality. Initially introduced as a bot within Telegram, Wallet has evolved into a comprehensive app and platform enabling people to manage their digital assets as easily as sending a message. The development of Wallet has been accelerating over recent months as the team prepared to launch exciting new products. A service for merchants in Telegram was launched in July, and an invite-only developer beta was launched in August for its upcoming self-custodial wallet product, TON Space. Since it was announced, over 1000 developers have joined the beta, with a public release anticipated later this month.

“Today, with a clear vision, a strong team, established partnerships, and secured resources, we are ready to bring Wallet and the entire TON ecosystem to the world. We anticipate that Wallet will propel global crypto adoption to an unprecedented level,” says Andrew Rogozov, CEO of TOP and Wallet. “The Open Platform is well funded, with First Stage Labs having secured significant investment upon its creation from our partners. Together, we share the conviction that the synergy of The Open Network's blockchain and the Telegram Messenger will serve as an unparalleled catalyst for the next phase of the Web3 ecosystem's growth”.

TOP Labs, the venture-building division of The Open Platform, will continue the strategy of its predecessor, First Stage Labs. TOP Labs's existing portfolio includes several TON-based startups, such as the non-custodial wallet Tonkeeper, Open Builders community management tools, and the NFT marketplace Getgems amongst others. “The rebranding also vividly illustrates our growth approach – fostering an open platform paradigm that creates a flywheel for everyone building on top of our products and utilizing Toncoin as a native asset,” — said Andrey Klebanov, Managing Partner of TOP Labs.

Andrew Rogozov, CEO of TOP and Wallet companies

Ex-CEO of VK.com, the largest social network in Eastern Europe. Andrew led the company for seven years, from 2014 to 2021, and scaled it from 50 employees to a team of almost 1,200. The company’s revenue increased 8x during his tenure, keeping the leadership in user engagement in a very competitive market. In January 2022, Andrew resigned from VK, joined the TON Foundation as a founding member, and founded First Stage Labs. In 2023 FS Labs merged with Wallet inside Telegram and rebranded and restructured, creating the newly formed company The Open Platform in the process.

Andrey Klebanov, Managing Partner, TOP Labs

Andrey Klebanov has over a decade of experience in investing and venture building. He is a Techstars alumnus, and an OnDeck fellow, passionate about developing the next generation of Web3 projects. Previously Managing Partner of First Stage Labs, Andrey has been responsible for securing multi-million dollar deals for numerous businesses across multiple sectors, helping to scale the brightest ideas and bring the best products to market. Eager to involve himself in projects’ beginnings and their culmination, Andrey has a demonstrable background in delivering success for Web3 startups.

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