Praxis Project in New York Announces First Physical Location in Uruguay, First Residents Expected to Move in Mid-2027
The Praxis project in New York has announced its first physical location in the +Colonia development area near Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, stating that construction has begun and the first residents are expected to move in by mid-2027. CEO Dryden Brown mentioned that the global site selection has concluded, focusing on natural conditions and political-economic stability, and he plans to relocate there by the end of 2026, with more land purchases aimed for 2027. The company aims to mobilize approximately $1 billion in investments over three years.
+Colonia is driven by Argentine entrepreneur Eduardo Bastitta, with construction starting in 2022, currently around 100,000 square meters under development and approximately $300 million invested. It is located on the banks of the La Plata River, about an hour by ferry to Buenos Aires. Praxis claims to have around 150,000 online members, with about 2,500 to 2,700 interested in relocating, although most plots have not yet been sold, and the agreements have been reported as non-binding. Brown stated that they are currently complying with Uruguayan laws, and an independent city-state is not the immediate goal; the architectural vision is a mix of Gothic and space futurism.
Early funding dates back to 2021, with Crunchbase showing nearly $20 million raised by 2023, with investors including Sam Altman's Apollo Projects and the now-defunct Alameda Research. Reports also mention funds related to Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale, Marc Andreessen, and Balaji Srinivasan, the proponent of the network state concept, as supporters or sources of ideas; other reports indicate that Thiel later distanced himself from Praxis. The conceptual framework comes from Srinivasan's network state: online communities raising funds to acquire land, setting their own rules, and seeking recognition. The sellers are network state initiatives seeking a physical base, while the buyers are real estate on the Uruguayan riverbank and incentives from free trade zones. The event is driven by the conclusion of two years of site selection leading to a stable judicial area in South America, with funding shifting from online community donations to land and apartments. The beneficiaries are the already under-construction +Colonia, while the pressured side is Uruguay, which must convert non-binding agreements into transactions and planning permits.
Source: Public Information
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This is not a joint opening by the leaders of three countries, but rather Praxis, which has been fundraising since 2021, integrating Balaji's network state, Thiel's long-term bets on charter governance, and Altman's early fund checks into an existing developer's property in Uruguay. Brown, at thirty, writes a civilizational experiment as a mix of Gothic and aerospace, yet clearly states the need to comply with Uruguayan law upon landing. The $1 billion is a mobilization target, not already received land payments; 150,000 is the community size, while 2,500 is the intention. The only truly realizable asset is the 100,000 square meters of +Colonia that has already begun construction.
The capital path is Silicon Valley checks buying South American coastline: Apollo Projects appeared in the $20 million round in 2023, while Alameda has exited after being listed at the same time. Thiel's people are in South America, and Milei's advisor Bastitta is the landowner, welding Argentina's political network with Uruguayan land titles. The endgame of the network state is diplomatic recognition, while the current product is apartments and free trade zones. The Mediterranean has been excluded due to conflict, indicating that site selection criteria have shifted from ideological purity to travel distance and regime stability.
Analogies include the private city of Próspera in Honduras, Seasteading platforms, and the repeated failures of special economic zones and charter cities in Africa and Central America. The industry phase is that crypto and AI wealth require physical enclaves, but enclaves must first parasitize existing developers' plans. The post-AGI narrative frames unemployment as a reason for migration: jobs can be replaced by agents, and people need to concentrate in "still worth living" enclosures.
Structural judgments belong to capital concentration under regulatory change experiments. The mechanism is that sovereign states sell stability and tax systems, network communities sell identity and vision, and real estate developers sell already started concrete. Whoever first converts a non-binding memorandum into transferable land parcels will hold pricing power. The slogan can be new civilization, but the delivery sheet still lists riverbank square meters and the 2027 move-in window.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
Network states first need a transferable land title
Utopian slogans are discussed over ten years, while apartments are delivered by 2027
Stable judicial areas are sold before independent city-states