Ethereum's L2 Eclipse CEO resigns amidst sexual harassment scandal; Dragonfly: We were aware but did not invest
The Ethereum L2 scaling project Eclipse and its CEO Neel Somani have indicated through the social media platform X that Somani will temporarily reduce public appearances due to facing allegations of sexual harassment. Somani has denied the accusations as false and has vowed to work towards clearing his name and defending himself.
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Eclipse CEO Accused of Harassment: Denies Allegations, Steps Back but Does Not Resign
The latest tweet from Eclipse CEO Neel Somani indicates that he is temporarily stepping back from his position due to harassment allegations he is facing.
Serious allegations have been made against me on Twitter in the last week. These allegations are false, but serious allegations about sexual misconduct warrant a serious and thoughtful response. You'll find that response in the thread below:
β neelsalami.eth π (@neelsalami) May 9, 2024
In a statement on his personal account, Somani expressed that harassment is a serious issue prevalent in the industry and society, and he has never harassed or violated any woman.
He admitted that while he is working to prove his innocence, the situation has already damaged the reputation of the Eclipse team, developers, and investors:
Therefore, I will temporarily reduce my public appearances as the CEO of Eclipse.
He added, "The senior leadership at Eclipse is fully capable of handling these responsibilities and through more dialogue, uncover the truth behind these allegations."
Additionally, Somani responded through The Block, stating that he will continue to serve as CEO and be involved in Eclipse's development, but will temporarily not appear in public or on podcasts.
Eclipse Team: Takes Allegations Seriously, Maintains High Standards
On the other hand, an official statement from Eclipse indicates that the team is committed to gender equality and fair treatment, upholding the highest personal and professional standards.
Eclipse remains committed to maintaining the highest personal and professional standards, including gender equality and fair treatment. The team takes allegations against our CEO, Neel Somani, seriously and believes in the importance of truth.
β Eclipse π (@EclipseFND) May 9, 2024
We take the allegations against CEO Neel Somani very seriously and believe in the importance of the truth.
Dragonfly Managing Partner: Knew About Allegations Early and Did Not Invest
Furthermore, Dragonfly Managing Partner Haseeb Qureshi tweeted that they discovered Somani's sexual misconduct rumors early on during their investigation of Eclipse and quickly decided not to invest:
When we were originally diligencing Eclipse, we heard rumors that @neelsalami had a history of sexual harassment. We passed pretty quickly on the investment.
If we heard this doing only minimal diligence, there's no way the actual investors didn't also hear the same.
It's oneβ¦
β Haseeb οΌ|οΌ (@hosseeb) May 9, 2024
If we could learn about this rumor with minimal investigation, other investors certainly heard it too. Yet, he raised a large round before launching tokens, even sold millions on the secondary market.
This is not ethical: "We knew this negative news and didn't tell other investors, but now that it's public, let's attack them immediately."
Eclipse Previously Raised Millions in Funding
As a modular rollup platform, Eclipse stands out for bringing Solana to Ethereum, combining Solana, Celestia, Ethereum, and RISC Zero technologies to create a parallel EVM chain with Solana's speed and Ethereum's security, achieving an L2 scaling solution.
Reportedly, Eclipse announced in March this year that it had completed a $50 million Series A funding round led by Placeholder and Hack VC, bringing the total funding of the company to $65 million.