ConsenSys, a blockchain technology business founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, has secured $450 million in a fresh round of fundraising that includes a Microsoft investment.
According to CNBC, ConsenSys’ valuation has more than quadrupled to $7 billion as a result of this round of fundraising.
The $450 million funding investment was headed by ParaFi Capital, with Microsoft, Japan’s SoftBank, and Singapore’s Temasek all participating as new investors in the firm.
Joseph Lubin, a co-founder of Ethereum, created the New York-based blockchain business in 2014. In addition to other blockchain technologies, the business creates software that works on the Ethereum network.
According to the source, Microsoft’s investment is an unusual “crypto-related gamble.” Previously, the corporation led an early-stage investment in Palm NFT Studio, another initiative co-founded by Lubin.
Microsoft’s investment in ConsenSys indicates the tech giant’s growing interest in Web3, which focuses on re-creating the internet in a more decentralized manner through the use of blockchain technology and apps.
According to CNBC, during the last year, Silicon Valley has received a major new surge of investment and interest in Web3. According to the research, blockchain-based firms garnered a record $25 billion in venture capital financing globally in 2021, using data from CB Insights.
ConsenSys has revealed that all revenues from its most recent round of fundraising would be turned into the ether and used to hire 600 or more staff. The cash will also be used to rebuild the MetaMask program and expand its non-fungible token (NFT) business.
About ConsenSys
ConsenSys, established by Joseph Lubin, is a blockchain software technology business headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite offices in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
In early 2015, Joseph Lubin created ConsenSys as a software foundry aiming to create decentralized software services as well as apps that run on the Ethereum blockchain.
ConsenSys announced a restructure in December 2018, with predicted layoffs of 13% of its 1,200 employees, followed by a further 14% layoff in February 2020.
The company bought Quorum from JPMorgan Chase & Co. in August 2020. The deal’s financial specifics were not disclosed. The company even received $200 million in November 2021 at a value of $3.2 billion from Animoca Brands, Coinbase Ventures, and HSBC, among others.
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