Big Money for Blockchain Players
San Francisco’s blockchain darling, Alchemy, just pulled off an impressive $250 million Series C funding round led by none other than Andreessen Horowitz. Talk about a cash infusion! This brings Alchemy’s valuation to a whopping $3.5 billion. If you thought their previous late April celebration of an $80 million Series B was something, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
From Startup to Titan
Founded back in 2017, Alchemy spent a couple of years laying the groundwork before launching their product in August 2020. It’s like they were the kid who showed up late to the party but still ended up being the life of it. With a snazzy team of 37 employees (it’s growing, trust me), this outfit now powers a staggering $45 billion in transaction volume. Their clients are a who’s who in the NFT space, UNICEF, and even the likes of Adobe and PwC. No big deal, right?
Not Just More Money, But More Vision
The founders, Nikil Viswanathan and Jon Lau, boast that the company is “very profitable” and oddly enough, they haven’t splurged any of their previous funding. Instead, they are channeling this new capital to foster a burgeoning community around all things blockchain. “Empowering developers is the key to bringing the magic of blockchain to the world,” Viswanathan aptly noted. Quite poetic for a Monday morning!
A Ripple in the Blockchain Community
In Alchemy’s own blog post, they compared their mission to what AWS did for the web. Talk about aiming high! By providing developers with the tools needed to create mainstream blockchain applications, Alchemy is not just in the game; they’re looking to change it. And with plans to expand their offices beyond their current spots in New York and San Francisco, they have their sights set globally.
Celebrity Endorsements and Major Partnerships
It’s not just tech-savvy investors backing them; Alchemy’s early fundraising rounds included notable names like Jay Z, Will Smith, and even Yahoo’s Jerry Yang. They don’t just have a strong investment portfolio; their collaborations are noteworthy too, like their recent partnership with the blockchain entertainment platform, Flow. This is a company that knows how to play the long game and has its eyes on new tools to further revolutionize blockchain development.
