Vision Fund, GGV back China blockchain infrastructure player
China-based blockchain infrastructure developer InfStones has received USD 66m in funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and GGV Capital. Ince Capital, 10T Fund, SNZ Holding, and A&T Capital also participated.
The round brings the company’s total funding to more than USD 100m and its valuation to nearly USD 1bn, according to a statement.
InfStones previously received USD 12m in seed and Series A funding, and then a USD 33m Series B in February. Investors included Susquehanna International Group (SIG), Dragonfly Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, DHVC, A&T, Ince, and Value Internet Fund.
Founded in 2018, the company has built a blockchain development platform using application programming interfaces (APIs) that can access more than 50 blockchains such as Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Ethereum, and Neo. A user-friendly front-end interface allows clients to deploy nodes within minutes.
As a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) provider, InfStones claims that its unified blockchain infrastructure makes it easier for different stakeholders in the crypto world - exchanges, wallets, custodians, asset managers, and analytics providers - to operate cross-chain.
"InfStones provides the foundational infrastructure layer for the Web3 era, offering an enterprise-grade node management and staking platform that makes it painless for customers to participate in Web3 and defi [centralised finance]," said Dennis Chang, a managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Crypto, or web3, has become a prominent investment theme in Greater China. Last month, Hong Kong-based Babel Finance, which claims to be the world’s leading wholesale crypto financial services provider, raised a USD 80m Series B at a valuation of USD 2bn. Meanwhile, China and US-based blockchain security player Certik raised USD 80m in the third tranche of a Series B last December.
InfStones will use the new funding for product R&D aimed at creating a more robust infrastructure for global customers. It is also looking to establish more partnerships and make acquisitions to scale its business globally.
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