Everledger, a startup that uses blockchain technology to track assets in a bid to prevent fraud, has raised $10.4m (£7.38m) in Series A funding.
The round was led by the Canadian arm of Fidelity Investments and Toronto-based investment banking firm GMP Securities. Vickers Ventures Partners, US-based Graphene Venture Capital and existing investors FPV, Fenbushi, Bloomberg Beta and Rakuten also participated.
Everledger founder and CEO Leanne Kemp said: “Everledger started with the purpose of building trust amongst stakeholders in global markets. Having this round of financing supported by strong and credible investors is testament to our success to date in achieving that purpose, taking us from a startup to a scaleup in just three years.
“We are confident that having the support of such high calibre investors with a solid track record of accelerating growth, will enable further growth and success in our plans for entry to new markets where provenance matters,”she added.
Founded in 2015, EverLedger uses blockchain, smart contracts, machine vision IOT and artificial intelligence, to assist in the reduction of risk and fraud for banks, insurers and open marketplaces.
It tracks the provenance of high-value assets on a global digital ledger, which gives stakeholders history of an asset’s authenticity, existence and ownership. Everledger started off tracking diamonds and currently has the provenance of over 2 million diamonds cryptographically-certified on the blockchain. This funding will be used to progress the tracking platform and expand into the coloured gemstones, jewellery, fine wine and art markets.
This latest round of financing coincides with the opening of an office in Mumbai, and over the next 12 months Everledger hopes to secure more industry collaborations and work with the World Economic Forum to create sustainable and ethical supply chains.
Current partners include Gübelin Gem Lab to track coloured gemstones; Brilliant Earth to ensure all materials used in bridal jewellery are ethically sourced, and Shping to build an industry-first GS1 EPCIS platform for the tracking of brand product information.
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