Key Takeaways
- • Blockchain financial infrastructure start-up Alta has raised a total of $80 million across its seed and Series A rounds, according to FinTech Futures.
- • The seed round totaled $32.5 million, led by Capital 49, with Airwallex as inaugural design partner.
- • The $47.5 million Series A was led by Index Ventures, with participation from GV (Google Ventures), Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg, and Capital 49.
- • Alta's platform aims to let banks and financial institutions move money and financial assets instantly on blockchain, with privacy and compliance built in via recursive zero-knowledge cryptography.
- • Alta's first product targets corporate liquidity management, reducing cash buffers held in prefunded accounts through tokenised assets and yield-bearing tokens.
Summary
Blockchain-focused financial infrastructure provider Alta has secured a total of $80 million across its seed and Series A funding rounds, according to FinTech Futures. The start-up initially raised $32.5 million in seed financing led by Capital 49, with Airwallex, which is also its inaugural design partner, participating. It subsequently added a $47.5 million Series A round led by Index Ventures. Other Series A investors included GV (Google Ventures), Blackbird Ventures, Square Peg, and Capital 49.
Alta was founded earlier this year by former Meta executive Catherine Porter, Airwallex co-founder Jack Zhang, and Loong Wang, the developer behind QDX, a quantum-powered drug discovery platform, and Ren, an open-source decentralised protocol aimed at cross-chain interoperability. The company describes its platform as enabling banks and other financial institutions to move money and financial assets instantly using blockchain. Privacy and compliance features are built in through its recursive zero-knowledge cryptography, which Alta says allows institutions to "keep balances, transactions, identities, and compliance policies private while verifying that transactions meet the required rules."
Alta's inaugural product is designed to help businesses manage liquidity more efficiently and reduce cash buffers tied up in prefunded accounts. Built on tokenised assets, it is intended to enable just-in-time funding, more efficient foreign exchange, and allow businesses to move in and out of yield-bearing tokenised assets instantly.
According to the company, the newly secured capital will support development of its proprietary infrastructure offering, fund engineering and compliance team hiring, and fuel partnership expansion. The article does not disclose a valuation for the company.
Alta was founded earlier this year by former Meta executive Catherine Porter, Airwallex co-founder Jack Zhang, and Loong Wang, the developer behind QDX, a quantum-powered drug discovery platform, and Ren, an open-source decentralised protocol aimed at cross-chain interoperability. The company describes its platform as enabling banks and other financial institutions to move money and financial assets instantly using blockchain. Privacy and compliance features are built in through its recursive zero-knowledge cryptography, which Alta says allows institutions to "keep balances, transactions, identities, and compliance policies private while verifying that transactions meet the required rules."
Alta's inaugural product is designed to help businesses manage liquidity more efficiently and reduce cash buffers tied up in prefunded accounts. Built on tokenised assets, it is intended to enable just-in-time funding, more efficient foreign exchange, and allow businesses to move in and out of yield-bearing tokenised assets instantly.
According to the company, the newly secured capital will support development of its proprietary infrastructure offering, fund engineering and compliance team hiring, and fuel partnership expansion. The article does not disclose a valuation for the company.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.