NYU Dropout Raised $19M to Build Futuristic Tech Haven, The City of Praxis

With the looming desire of various industry players to solve the world’s biggest problems, the growing demand for a decentralized economy, and the appreciation of being surrounded by a community with shared interests and goals, the City of Praxis came to fruition.

The idea developed by Bluebook Cities, a company co-founded by Dryden Brown and Charlie Callinan, is a Mediterranean city that runs on a shared set of spiritual principles, equipped with economic zones built on cryptocurrency.

Citizen Visas and NDAs

The thought of building the City of Praxis, built for members of the Praxis Society, came about when NYU dropout Brown felt trapped inside his apartment during the pandemic and started thinking about the most ideal place to live in. A series of events, one being having been homeschooled and learning plenty about charter cities, drew Brown into meeting young tech bros and entrepreneur socialites who found the idea of Praxis intriguing.

According to a Guardian US editor named Amana Fontanella-Khan, who had the opportunity to attend one of the Praxis Society’s parties, a society where people’s own desired laws can be created without government intervention, taxes can be avoided, and undesirables can be removed, is what Praxis builders and followers seem to desire.

Though Brown hasn’t set an exact location for Praxis, the place is described to have thousands of acres of a Mediterranean canvas. Praxis will supposedly also include special, Silicon Valley-esque decentralized economic zones for individuals wanting to work on their world-saving projects.

Those expressing interest in moving into the city once it gets built can start their moving process by applying for a permanent, steel visa that gives citizens tax advantages, land ownership, and work authorization. This can be done through Praxis’ website by providing names, emails, and a reference from an existing Praxis Society member. This will be followed by a selfie taken with an iPad and an NDA signing.

Praxis has disclosed through its website that those who have applied may need to pay a $5K deposit to “move forward” with the move. Brown stated that 12,000 people have signed up for Praxis’ group chats on Discord, Telegram, and Signal, and many are engaged in the thought of moving to Brown’s libertarian city. Brown claims the city is backed by two former prime ministers and has a waitlist of almost 50,000 people.

Vitality and Autonomy for Persona Groups

Aside from libertarianism and self-governance, one of the core principles guiding Praxis is the equal opportunity to nurture one’s “vitality,” which encompasses one tending to their physical and mental health as well as their social well-being.

Claimed to be built with a waterfront and a public square as well as beaches, piers, and boardwalks, walkability and great access to nature have become priorities in the building process of Praxis, which heavily relies on functional architecture and environmental technology.

Praxis is also envisioned as a charter state with a decentralized governance structure, set to provide as much autonomy as possible to its citizens. This means governance and any decision-making will be distributed among Praxis residents, whether through direct democracy or elected representatives.

Despite this vision, Brown has expressed that Praxis isn’t trying to be a total sovereign nation, and plans to partner with companies and governments to promote the city’s economic growth while also being mutually beneficial for all parties.

Media Attention and Criticism

The less-than-ideal experiences related to cryptocurrency in the past year have caught plenty of media attention, with most doubting the Peter Thiel-backed city’s ability to stand as a coherent society and actually fulfill its utopian, crypto state dream.

Criticism has also come from various parties due to anonymous sources accusing Brown of asking his staff to read fascist writers and expressed fascination towards a researcher in the Nazi regime, calling Brown part of a “creepy internet subculture.” Some sources aware of Praxis' internal info are also concerned about the Praxis Society’s integrity due to gender imbalance, its praise of traditional European/Western beauty standards, and a former employee claiming that Brown used “hot girls” and lavish parties to attract top tech talent.

Praxis has raised $19M to move on from its current Phase 1 development plan of community building, citizen recruiting, as well as city and governance model designing.

Meme & AI-Generated Picture

Job Posting

• Clari - Staff Machine Learning Platform Engineer - San Francisco, CA+ (Remote/Hybrid)

• Grammarly - Business Systems Analyst, Q2C - San Francisco, CA+ (Remote/Hybrid)

• Kea - Machine Learning Engineer, ASR - Austin, TX+ (Remote)

• Philo - Frontend Web TV Developer, Smart TVs - San Francisco, CA+ (Remote)

Promote your product/service to Digger Insights’ Community

Advertise with Digger Insights. Digger Insights’ Miners are professionals and business owners with diverse Industry backgrounds who are looking for interesting and helpful tools, products, services, jobs, events, apps, and books. Email us [email protected]

Your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Send it to [email protected]