Web3 data startup Golden has raised $40 million in a Series B round led by the crypto arm of noted venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), according to a post on the company’s website. The capital, which brings total funding up to $60 million, will help Golden build its decentralized and incentivized data protocol.
A16z co-founder Marc Andreessen served on Golden’s board of directors prior to the fundraise, and a16z partner Ali Yahya will now join the board. A16z set a new industry record in May with a $4.5 billion commitment for its fourth crypto-focused venture capital fund.
“Knowledge is fragmented; to find reliable information, one needs to search across centralized repositories, personal webpages, news sites, blogs, and private databases. The world lacks a standardized interface for discovering, contributing and verifying knowledge,” wrote Golden founder and CEO Jude Gomila in the announcement. “Creating this interface in a scalable way requires not just data; it requires the development of incentives for data entry, verification, and governance.”
The blockchain-backed Golden protocol is essentially designed to provide financial incentives via tokens to those who provide correct data and the validators who verify the data is accurate. Incorrect information will be penalized. Organizations can pay to access and use the data.
The Golden protocol is currently in testnet, with the mainnet launch planned for the second quarter of 2023.
Other investors in the round included Protocol Labs and its founder Juan Benet, Solana blockchain founder Raj Gokal and Dropbox co-founder and ex-Chief Technology Officer Arash Ferdowsi, among others.
Read more: Andreessen Horowitz Says Crypto Can Shift Power Away From Big Internet Companies: Report
