Introducing the New GCC Team & the Road Ahead

gccofficial
@GCCofCommons · Sep 2
5
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It has been some time since GCC announced its leadership transition and open call for new members.

In that announcement, we noted that AI is reshaping how software is built, while open-source communities are finding their place amid shifts in technology and funding. These changes have also prompted GCC to rethink what we should focus on next and where our limited resources can have the greatest impact.

Now, the transition is complete. New members bring new perspectives and connections, marking the beginning of GCC’s next chapter.

What Will GCC Focus on Next?

From the beginning, one of GCC’s goals has been to help the Chinese-speaking community play a more active role in building global digital public goods. We believe the digital world should balance public value, open collaboration, and long-term sustainability, so that more communities and builders can take part in shaping it together.

As GCC’s slogan says, Fund & Support Public Goods We Believe In.

Over the past few years, GCC has supported work across many areas, from privacy, security and developer ecosystems to decentralized governance, social research, and open information. As our focus expanded, we kept coming back to the same question: How can we use our limited resources to support foundational work and help build a more open, trusted, and autonomous digital world?

Based on our experience in funding public goods, building communities, and working with projects over the past few years, we have gradually found a clearer path: start with the needs of different fields, and identify the shared foundations that can support more communities and projects over the long term.

Following this approach, our public funding will focus on three core values — OPS:

  • Open Source
  • Privacy
  • Security

Based on these three values, we will focus on areas including open-source AI, formal verification, open-source hardware, open-source infrastructure, fundamental research at universities, and the digital public infrastructure that supports them.

Meet the New GCC Team

The current GCC operates through a Board, five Working Groups, and an independent Voting Committee.

The Board sets GCC’s overall direction, makes key governance decisions, coordinates major resources, and appoints Working Group leads. The five Working Groups handle day-to-day execution, with each group led by a team lead and supported by contributors. The Voting Committee operates independently from GCC’s day-to-day work and is primarily responsible for reviewing key projects and making funding decisions.

I. Board

Responsibilities: Organizational development, open source initiatives, and industry partnerships.

An active contributor to China’s open-source community, serving on the board of Kaiyuanshe, co-founder of OpenBuild, and contributor to developer communities including PyChina and RustCC.

Responsibilities: Grant management and international partnerships.
Cultural entrepreneur, human systems researcher, and founding curator of Seapunk Studios.

Cultural entrepreneur, human systems researcher, and founding curator at Seapunk Studios, based in Kuala Lumpur.

Responsibilities: Ecosystem partnerships with the Ethereum Foundation.

GTM Director at Kite AI, former two-term GCC Team Lead, BNB Chain developer marketer, and technology journalist at leading financial media.

Responsibilities: University partnerships and youth talent development.

An Ethereum community contributor with over nine years of community-building experience and a long-standing interest in the intersection of foundational cryptography and Ethereum.

Responsibilities: Technical research and internal infrastructure governance.

Co-Founder and CTO at Mask Network, and researcher at the Institute of Network Society.

II. Five Working Groups

1) Grants & Projects Working Group

Ex-token fund Investment Director.

DeFi mkt, LXDAO builder, freelance writer, build for Global Majority.

  • Contributor | Morty

City dweller, still learning the ropes in crypto & development.

PhD student specializing in blockchain, with a focus on on-chain data analysis and mining, cross-chain security, and efficiency.

Key Focus: Maintain RFPs and the wishlist, move forward with the review and implementation of Cohort, improve the initial screening and interview process for open applications, and keep the Grants Ledger and Project Graph up to date.

2) Technical Research, Review & Infrastructure Working Group

Senior software engineer with 10+ years of experience, specializing in Rust, compiler toolchains, and blockchain infrastructure.

Web3 developer with experience in hackathons and ETHGlobal, covering full-stack development, smart contracts, and DeFi protocol research.

CS graduate student in the U.S., DeFi founder, and multi-ecosystem hackathon winner, experienced in turning complex problems into practical engineering solutions.

Data infrastructure and AI engineer with a master’s degree in Engineering Management from Tsinghua University, focused on AI agents and open-source AI infrastructure.

Key Focus: Build a reviewer network and an initial technical review process for key areas, write the technical sections of RFPs, and conduct research on open-source sustainability, collaboration models, and changes in licensing in the AI era.

3) Ecosystem Partnerships Working Group

Experienced in both tech companies and open-source communities, with a focus on open-source hardware and public goods.

Blockchain developer with nine years of experience, primarily focused on EVM ecosystems.

Paris-based social entrepreneur focused on decentralized governance, privacy, and public goods.

  • Contributor(Open-Source Foundations) | Weirao @weiraolilun

Experienced in tech companies and open-source software, with a strong background in open source and public goods.

  • Contributor(Universities & Youth) | Fen Jiaying @0xstride7

PhD student researching blockchain performance, cross-chain security, and multi-agent collaboration.

  • Contributor(Universities & Youth) | Grey @Dalinisgw

PhD student with seven research papers and four granted or pending Chinese invention patents.

Key Focus: Coordinate partnerships across three areas: EF APAC; universities and young builders; companies and open-source foundations, while building stronger channels for external collaboration and resource sharing.

4) Brand, Content & Media Working Group

Years of experience in content and community operations.

Content and industry researcher focused on AI and emerging technologies, with a knack for spotting trends and turning complex ideas into compelling stories.

Independent designer with 10+ years of experience and a longtime community lurker.

Key Focus: Build a consistent Chinese and English content system and external voice, resume monthly and quarterly updates, and improve ongoing project announcements and grant case studies.

5) Organizational Development Working Group

Focused on open-source community operations, Ethereum community contributor, and Pop-up City organizer and contributor.

ENTJ | Navigating the bear market with AI & Web3.

Co-founder of DeSci Asia, member of the GreenPill Network Growth Working Group, core team member of the Gitcoin Grants DeSci Community Round, core team member at DHK and FAB DAO, and former Uncommons working team member.

Key Focus: Member recruitment and onboarding, meeting and documentation standards, member development and contribution tracking; supporting collaboration and knowledge sharing across working groups; organizing and executing community and brand events.

III. Independent Voting Committee

The Voting Committee operates independently from GCC’s day-to-day work. It reviews and makes decisions on key projects and contributes to discussions on funding priorities and mechanisms. Building on previous experience, the current committee brings additional expertise in AI, open source, security, privacy, cryptography, formal verification, open-source hardware, and university research.

The committee will regularly review project pitches and vote on funding decisions. GCC may also invite external experts to provide input when needed. External experts do not make funding decisions independently, and anyone with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves.

Transition Process and Continued Participation

We received 56 valid applications, including 15 for Working Group Leads and 41 for Working Group Contributors.

The selection process took into account the responsibilities and needs of each role, focusing on candidates’ understanding of GCC’s direction, ability to execute and collaborate, and willingness to contribute over the long term. The process included written applications, online conversations, Board review, and final confirmation. Members with direct conflicts of interest recused themselves from the relevant reviews.

GCC will remain open to participation after this selection process. Applicants who were not selected can still get involved in other ways. Public goods depend on community support to build and sustain, and we welcome anyone willing to contribute their time to open source, privacy, security, and other work with long-term value.

Looking Back

Over the past year, with the support of the previous team leads, OPs, Voting Committee members, and Contributors, GCC continued its work on public goods funding and community building.

On the funding side, GCC moved to a Cohort-based model, launching Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 and supporting 11 projects in total. In November 2025, the GCC Builder Ticket Program expanded to South America for the first time, providing flight support for Chinese-speaking builders attending Devconnect Buenos Aires. In January 2026, GCC hosted the first Chinese-speaking Cypherpunk × Thinkers Assembly in Chiang Mai, with discussions on privacy, cryptography, open source, and related topics. The AI Agents Hackathon also expanded its focus to AI and open-source technologies and partnered with a Berkeley hackathon, and ultimately selected and supported 6 projects.

A final thank-you to the previous team leads, OPs, Voting Committee members, and all contributors: @withhazelhu, @Luxanna2002, @Tronn_lyu, @wong_ssh, @tokyo10086, @ConstantinGao, @yuxin_pig, @yisiliu, @SARAHWAGMI, @fangtingeth, @lurenbian, @nake13, @not_qz, @AnneJ_ECF, @vvntp6.

In Closing

A list of names is just the beginning; it is a list of commitments to what lies ahead.

By the time of the next selection, we hope to have clearer answers to a few questions: Have we identified and supported projects with the potential to create lasting impact? Have we produced open research on questions such as the sustainability of open source in the AI era, creating a foundation for others to discuss and build on? Have we built lasting connections with more university labs, researchers, and young builders? And beyond funding, have we helped the projects we support gain access to real-world use cases and broader resources across the global ecosystem?

This is the true impact we strive to achieve together.

About GCC

GCC (Global Chinese Community of Universal Digital Commons) is a digital public goods fund connecting Chinese-speaking builders with the global ecosystem. We support open-source software, developer communities, and digital infrastructure, with a growing focus on open-source AI, privacy, and post-quantum technologies. Through funding and community collaboration, GCC helps builders contribute to a free, open, and sustainable future.

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