zkPass has raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round structured as a SAFT, bringing the FDV token of zkPass to $100 million.
zkPass raises $12.5 million with a token valuation of $100 million
zkPass, a privacy-preserving protocol for identity verification (KYC), has raised $12.5 million in a Series A funding round.
Investors in this round include dao5, Animoca Brands, Flow Traders, Amber Group, IOBC Capital, Signum Capital, MH Ventures, and WAGMI Ventures. There was no lead investor in the Series A round as zkPass wanted all investors to have the opportunity to contribute more rather than have a large investor take a majority stake - Bing Jiang, co-founder and CTO of the project, shared.
The Series A funding round was structured as a SAFT, bringing the fully diluted valuation (FDV) of the zkPass token to $100 million, thereby increasing the total funding to $15 million. Previously, in August 2023, the project had completed a $2.5 million Seed funding round from Binance Labs, Sequoia China, OKX Ventures, dao5, SIG DT Investments, Cypher Capital, Leland Ventures, and Blockchain Founders Fund.
The zkPass token is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2025.
We're thrilled to announce that zkPass has successfully secured $12.5M in a Series A funding round! This brings our total funding to $15M and will accelerate zkTLS development across Web3 ecosystems.
— zkPass (@zkPass) October 17, 2024
Shipping matters more than storytelling.
🧵 1/10 pic.twitter.com/RHeYeyxJIx
zkPass is a project that enhances security for Web3 applications with the goal of providing a safe and privacy-preserving identity verification (KYC) solution based on zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) technology, allowing users to prove information without sharing actual data, such as identity or financial records.
Users can create "proofs" from websites that store personal information (bank accounts, social media) to verify details about the existence of any service without revealing unwanted information. These proofs can then be securely shared with the other party, for example in the following areas:
- Decentralized Identifiers (DID);
- Privacy-based healthcare data marketplaces;
- DeFi protocols (lending/borrowing) using off-chain data for credit applications.
Currently, zkPass has a team of 26 employees and plans to hire additional personnel in the technical, marketing, and business development departments.
zkPass is not an unfamiliar name, as it was one of the 5 projects selected by Binance Labs for investment in the 5th Incubation Program in June 2023. Over 900 projects applied for this 5th incubation round, but only 12 were selected for the evaluation process. Ultimately, only 5 projects were invested in, demonstrating the fierce competition and stringent requirements of the program.
Compiled by Coin68
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