Blockstream, the blockchain-based startup company, has announced that it raised $55 million in Series A funding led by Horizons Ventures, AXA Strategic Ventures, and Digital Garage, with participation from existing investors including AME Cloud Ventures, Blockchain Capital, Future\Perfect Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Mosaic Ventures, and Seven Seas Venture Partners. This builds on the company's $21 million seed round announced in 2014.
“We value Blockstream's open source approach and its sidechain technology, which will allow interoperability between different chains and provide critical long-term success in this sector”, said François Robinet, Managing Partner, AXA Strategic Ventures. “We also look forward to partnering with Blockstream to drive the transformation of insurance and asset management businesses."
The company will use the funding to bring next generation blockchain innovation to market using its sidechain technology, expand its operations globally, and support industry partners.
As part of the round, Horizons has joined the Board of Directors. Frances Kang of Horizons Ventures said that they are excited to be working with Blockstream to see their innovative sidechain technology reach its full potential.
Founded by Austin Hill, Dr. Adam Back, and leading Bitcoin engineers including Gregory Maxwell and Dr. Pieter Wuille, Blockstream provides companies with the most mature, well tested, and secure infrastructure in production – the Bitcoin protocol extended via interoperable sidechains – with one of the most experienced teams in the industry.
The company announced its first commercial sidechain offering last October, called Liquid – an interoperable sidechain that extends the Bitcoin blockchain while adding auditable, cryptographically-strong commercial privacy. It has also recently collaborated with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the “Big four” companies, to bring blockchain technology and services to companies around the world.
