Institutional Roundup: QuickNode raises $60 million, Spatial Labs $10 million

The cryptocurrency industry is attracting an increasing number of institutional players. This is reflected in both new investments in infrastructure and the growing attention that companies devote to Bitcoin as an asset class. The most important events of the past weeks are in ForkLog’s review.

Blockchain infrastructure platform QuickNode raised $60 million

The blockchain infrastructure provider QuickNode raised $60 million following a Series B funding round. Investors valued the company at $800 million.

The round was led by 10T Holdings. It also included: Seven Seven Six led by Alexis Ohanian, Tiger Global, Protocol Labs, and other venture firms.

The startup raised funds amid the FTX collapse. The Series B round began in September and closed in December 2022, said CEO and co-founder Alex Nabutovsky.

“In 2022, QuickNode had two record quarters — Q3 and Q4. We had phenomenal demand and growth. Our revenue grew by more than 300% over the past year,” said a senior executive.

Threefold revenue growth positively affected QuickNode’s valuation. According to Nabutovsky, the company was valued at $250 million with raised $35 million in October 2021. With the closing of the next round, the valuation rose severalfold.

In the near term, the firm will use the raised funds to expand its team from 120 to 180 employees, and to enter Asian and Australian markets.

Blockchain Capital backs Web3 infrastructure firm Spatial Labs in $10 million round

The Web3 infrastructure firm Spatial Labs raised $10 million in seed funding.

The round was led by Blockchain Capital. Among other investors are Marcy Venture Partners, co-founded by rapper Jay-Z.

The funds will be used to develop products and grow the team. In 2022 Spatial Labs raised $4 million in a pre-seed round.

The project was founded in 2020 by Idris Sandu, a 25-year-old Ghanaian. Spatial Labs develops software and hardware tools that connect brands and consumers.

The company’s first product is the LNQ chip, released in May 2022, which uses Polygon technology for product authentication and creating virtual copies of physical objects.

Sec3 raised $10 million in seed round led by Multicoin Capital

The cybersecurity-focused company Sec3 raised $10 million in a seed round of funding.

It was led by Multicoin Capital with participation from Sanctor Capital, Essence VC and several angel investors, including Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

The company offers a comprehensive set of solutions, including:

• Launch Audits for code checks before deploying smart contracts on the network;
• X-Ray — a static analysis tool that continuously scans code for vulnerabilities;
• WatchTower for real-time monitoring of decentralized applications and immediate attack alerts;
• CircuitBreaker, used in tandem with the previous product, blocks attacks by halting smart-contract execution.

The firm closed the round in April 2022, but only announced it now alongside the public launch of its products. Prior to this, Sec3 served several private clients in the Solana ecosystem, including Helium Network, Metaplex and Tulip.

The funds will be used to improve products. To that end the firm plans to double its headcount from 15 employees.

Canadian miner Pow.re raises $9.2 million at a $150 million valuation

The Canadian mining company Pow.re closed a Series A financing round for $9.2 million. Its valuation reached $150 million.

The round was led by Haru Invest, a platform that manages crypto assets, which also provided $18 million in strategic investment. Pow.re will use these funds to expand its business in Paraguay.

Other participants were Trinito Corporation and RFD Capital.

Cybersecurity-focused Hypernative raises $9 million

The cybersecurity-focused startup Hypernative raised $9 million in a seed round.

Investments came from IBI Group, Blockdaemon, Alchemy, Borderless, CMT Digital, Nexo and several angel investors.

Hypernative’s first product tracks data inside and outside the network after a protocol is deployed to forecast any potential threat in real time. This helps identify a potential issue before it arises.

Gaming Web3 platform Oh Baby Games raises $6 million

The cryptocurrency gaming platform Oh Baby Games closed a $6 million seed round.

It was led by eGirl Capital and Synergis Capital, with participation from Merit Circle DAO, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, Kantan Games founder Serkan Toto and others.

The first released Oh Baby Games game is What The Kart. According to the description, the project offers “a fresh take on kart racing,” which “has not been updated for decades.”

In 2023 the platform plans to release two more games: Rugpull Guys and Platform Fighter. All projects will share a common set of collectible items, which will be an integral part of Oh Baby Games’ development.

The platform’s team has worked on franchises including Battlefield, Call of Duty, League of Legends, the Age of Empires II strategy, Castle Crashers, and the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering.

Also on ForkLog:

• Pantera and Kraken backed the launch of the Injective Labs fund at $150 million.