Trustology said Dec. 6 that it raised $8 million in a seed round led by Two Sigma Ventures. ConsenSys also participated in the round. Trustology, of London, is developing technology and services to help private and institutional clients secure digital assets.
PRESS RELEASE
Trustology Announces $8M Seed Investment for Digital Asset Safeguarding
The First Round of Institutional Funding Comes from Two Sigma Ventures and ConsenSys
London, UK – December 6, 2018 – Trustology, a ConsenSys-incubated company for securing digital assets, announced today that it has raised $8 million in a seed round led by Two Sigma Ventures, the early-stage venture capital fund of Two Sigma. ConsenSys, the global blockchain company founded by Ethereum Co-founder Joseph Lubin, also participated in the financing. Both investors will be joining Trustology’s board of directors.
Trustology, recently featured in the FinTech50 Hot 10 list for 2018, is developing technology and services to help private and institutional clients secure digital assets. Their first product, TrustVault, is a step change in key management. It combines un-matched private key protection against cyber and physical threats with low latency execution, by safekeeping private keys and control code inside tamper proof, programmable hardware security modules hosted in secure data centers, with encrypted backups in the cloud.
With more than 100 years of combined global banking and technology expertise, Trustology was founded by a strong team with a proven track record. Founder Alex Batlin formerly led blockchain innovation work at UBS AG and BNY Mellon and was a founding member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, Trusted IoT Alliance, Utility Settlement Coin and R3 consortium. Other team members include former executives from ADIA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNY Mellon, Curve, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, RBS, Starling Bank, and UBS.
“Key safeguarding is the catalyst for the world’s transition to digital assets and an inclusive shift for the internet economy,” states Alex Batlin, Trustology’s Founder and CEO. “Trustology’s unique blend of people, process, and key management technology offers industry defining digital asset security with speed of access and unrivalled ease of use. Trustology aspires to be the digital trust brand of the future.”
Additionally, Joseph Lubin, ConsenSys Founder and Ethereum Co-founder, says, “ConsenSys invests in solutions that elevate, and work towards integrating, the blockchain ecosystem, providing individuals and institutions with the tools needed to transition from legacy systems to a world built on decentralised infrastructure. Trustology has developed breakthroughs in key management and is providing support services to clients seeking unparalleled safeguarding for digital assets. By prioritizing security without the need to sacrifice accessibility, Trustology will serve current digital asset holders and attract new institutional and individual investors to the space. Trustology represents a profound technological piece that will move the needle noticeably on institutional adoption of digital assets. And the world class Trustology team has the pedigree to drive these discussions.”
Matt Jacobus, Venture Partner at Two Sigma Ventures, also adds, “We believe that a hot-storage solution with strong security and programmable controls is necessary to develop a larger, institutional trading ecosystem around digital assets. With their extensive backgrounds working at major financial institutions at the intersection of blockchain, technology, and product development, this is just the team to build it.”
Trustology will use the investment to develop new capabilities like smart accounts with programmable controls, support additional asset classes and expand its operations internationally. Trustology is currently onboarding selected beta clients.
About Two Sigma Ventures
Two Sigma Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund leveraging the resources of a world-class data and technology driven asset management firm. We invest in transformative companies that are harnessing information growth and computing power to change the world. Through our partnership with Two Sigma Investments, we provide entrepreneurs access to a proprietary network of experts and startup resources to give them a competitive edge. For more information, please visit www.twosigmaventures.com.
About ConsenSys
ConsenSys is a global formation of technologists and entrepreneurs building the infrastructure, applications, and practices that enable a decentralized world. At its core, ConsenSys is a venture production studio and blockchain software development consultancy creating decentralized applications (DApps), enterprise solutions and developer tools for blockchain ecosystems, focused primarily on Ethereum. Powered by smart contracts and secured through encryption, our solutions provide the benefits of transparency, auditability, and immutability that are unique to blockchain-based solutions. For more information please visit www.ConsenSys.net.