Blockchain Co Building The ‘Next Internet’ Lands $102M

Dfinity, a blockchain startup that is attempting to develop a decentralized cloud computing network, has raised $102 million in funding.

CNBC, citing Dominic Williams, the founder and chief scientist at Dfinity, reported the funding came from Andreessen Horowitz and crypto hedge fund Polychain Capital, among other investors. Dfinity plans to use the funding to hire employees, support its developers as they build more applications and to bankroll other efforts. The venture capital community has been paying close attention to Dfinity, with some thinking it could eventually take on Amazon Web Services.

Dfinity is trying to build a decentralized cloud computing network that could displace the current giants in cloud services. Andreessen Horowitz partner Chris Dixon told CNBC that Dfinity does have the potential to change the cloud computing market, but that the startup is still in the very early stages of its efforts.

This isn’t the first time Dfinity has raised money. In April, it landed $61 million as part of its quest to build a blockchain “internet computer.” According to The Merkle, the company raised the funds throughout the start of this year. The publication highlighted Dfinity’s “ambitious” goal: to develop a way to connect the world’s millions of computers via blockchain. The company has already piloted its network, which, according to reports, is more than 600 times faster than the Ethereum blockchain, and will be used for corporates.

In June Andreessen Horowitz became the first venture capital firm to raise a large fund focused on cryptocurrencies. The Silicon Valley investment firm announced the launch of a16z crypto, a $300 million venture fund that will invest in crypto companies and protocols.

“Our fund is designed to include the best features of traditional venture capital, updated to the modern crypto world,” wrote Dixon, who added that Andreessen Horowitz has been investing in crypto assets for more than five years. “We’ve never sold any of those investments and don’t plan to any time soon. We structured the a16z crypto fund to be able to hold investments for 10 [or more] years.”

The company’s crypto investments will have access to the same 80 person operating team as its non-crypto investments, and those employees have extensive experience in executive and technical recruiting, regulatory affairs, communications and marketing and general startup management.