Transparent Systems comes out of stealth mode with $14m funding
Transparent Systems raises $14m
Seattle-based Transparent Systems, a start-up building a real-time cryptographic settlement network, has raised over $14 million in its Series A funding round.
This adds to the initial $8 million in seed funding the company received in mid-2018 from Vulcan Capital. The Series A round was led by Pantera Capital, with participation from Jack Dorsey’s Square, Future\Perfect Ventures, DCG and others.
Pantera and Future\Perfect will join Vulcan on Transparent’s board of directors.
Mike Brock, strategic development at Square’s Cash App, says his company “believes that blockchain represents a path towards a more robust, safe, and empowering future for all participants in the economy – from individuals to businesses”.
Transparent says it “achieved a few key milestones in 2019, including several demonstrations of on-demand settlement of USD between multiple financial services firms, fintechs and banks”. In the course of this year, it will open up its network for evaluation, testing and initial commercial use.
Transparent Systems began at Vulcan Inc. in early 2018 at the direction of the late Paul Allen, along with Shawn Johnson, the former chairman of the investment committee of State Street Global Advisors. Later that year, it was spun out by Jeff Kramer and István Fülöp, members of the team at Vulcan. The company hired industry veterans Alex Fowler as its CEO and Patrick Murck as its chief legal officer.
Chris Orndorff, chief investment officer at Vulcan Capital, says Transparent’s work “honours Paul Allen’s vision for the next wave of fintech”. He adds: “The financial industry is ready for new technology to improve the way people pay for goods and services.”
