US-based distributed ledger technology (DLT) developer R3 raised $107m in series A funding on Tuesday from a range of banks and other corporate investors.
R3 represents a substantial consortium of financial services firms that have combined to develop blockchain technology for commercial use in their industry.
The funding represents the first two tranches of a planned three-tranche round and the participants so far include insurance firm Ping An, Singaporean state-owned firm Temasek and Intel Capital, the corporate venturing subsidiary of semiconductor technology provider Intel.
More than 40 banks also took part, including Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, BBVA, Natixis, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Credit Suisse, UBS, Deutsche Bank, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo, Commerzbank, Nordea Bank, OP Cooperative, SEB and Danske Bank from Europe.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of New York Mellon, Northern Trust, Citi, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Group and Bank of Nova Scotia represented North America.
Mizuho, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Nomura, SBI Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Daiwa Securities Group, Bangkok Bank and CTBC Financial Holding were the Asian-headquartered financial services firms involved in the round.
Lastly, Banco Bradesco, Itaú Unibanco and B3 came on board from Brazil, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac from Australia.
The first two tranches were reserved for R3 members but the third will seek funding from external backers. R3 will use the capital for product development, and in particular Corda, its DLT platform for use by banks, and to build its infrastructure network.
R3 chief executive David E. Rutter said: “This investment is unprecedented. Many of the world’s largest financial firms have come together not just with capital support, but with a robust commitment to work with R3 in developing industry solutions that will be the building blocks of the new financial services infrastructure. We have got unparalleled momentum.
“R3 has proven the collaborative model can successfully drive innovation in financial services to a degree never before seen.”