Clear, a developer of enterprise-grade blockchain settlement networks, has completed a $13M Series A. Eight Roads led the round, which also included Telefónica (NASDAQ:TEF) Innovation Ventures, Telekom Innovation Pool of Deutsche Telekom (NASDAQ: DTEGF) HKT (HKSE: 1137.HK) and Singtel Innov8. The funding will enable Clear to develop B2B payment systems that can process thousands of transactions per second and scale globally.
The $13 million sum is higher than average for a Series A, and is indicative of both the scale of the task Clear is undertaking and the confidence its backers have in the firm’s ability to deliver. Clear has made a name for itself through its smart contract technology that enables businesses to automate processes while retaining data privacy.
Fintech and Telecommunications Giants Place Faith in Clear
Clear’s sizeable Series A round will enable the company’s 30-strong team to double down on the blockchain trials it’s already implemented in the telecommunications industry for companies like BT, Deutsche Telekom, Telstra (ASX: TLS.AX), and Orange (NASDAQ: ORAN), and to pioneer new DLT solutions. In a statement announcing the successful funding round, Eran Haggiag, Clear’s Executive Chairman, said: “Contract management, settlements and payments between enterprises create an unbelievable amount of friction,” and spoke of the desire to create “a truly frictionless new B2B financial operating system.”
Blockchain’s suitability to serve as a global settlement layer can be traced all the way back to Bitcoin. Over the years, as BTC’s narrative has shifted from that of a medium of exchange to a store of value, so too has the use cases proposed for blockchain technology. Payments – or ‘settlement’ in a B2B context – have been complemented by enterprise applications like metals trading, supply chain, logistics, pharmaceutical tracking, and IoT.
Although numerous high throughput blockchains have been created to support these use cases, few have succeeded in attracting sufficient users or in advancing past the pilot stage. Clear’s formidable reputation, and the clout of its Series A backers, suggest it is the likeliest to succeed in driving enterprise adoption of blockchain.
Clear’s team is convinced that solving the privacy problem, which allows anyone to inspect the on-chain activity of public networks like Bitcoin, is fundamental in convincing businesses to utilize distributed ledger technology. The company has created a business environment whereby B2B smart contracts can be created and executed confidentially, driving greater efficiencies across industries such as banking and insurance. This tech will be at the heart of Clear’s freshly funded initiative to prove the efficacy of blockchain as a B2B settlement solution.
Disclosure: No positions.
