NFT startup Alchemy secured $80 million in funding

Alchemy, a California-based NFT and blockchain developer platform, has now secured $80 million in a Series B funding round.

Alchemy is founded by Nikil Vishwanathan and Joe Lau. Alchemy provides a developer platform that powers the blockchain industry by providing developers with the tools they need to create mainstream blockchain applications. Alchemy has become the technology behind each and every major NFT (Non-Fungible Token) platform, which includes the OpenSea, CryptoPunks, OpenSea, Nifty Gateway, Makersplace, and SuperRare.

The latest funding round has valued NFT startup, Alchemy at $500 million.  Alchemy powers infrastructure for many large NFT players in the blockchain industry just like AWS powers the infrastructure for Uber and Netflix, notes the announcement.

Unlike cryptocurrencies, NFTs are digital blockchain-linked assets that are unique and cannot be interchanged with any other asset. Once an NFT is created and sold, then it becomes a unique asset for the buyer and cannot be copied. The ownership of the NFT asset will be tracked with the help of Blockchain. 

Kris Fredrickson, the Managing Partner at Coatue, said, "Alchemy powers many of the most exciting companies in the blockchain space. We believe it has the potential to be transformative in accelerating the pace of innovation in the industry."

Nikil Viswanathan, co-founder, and CEO, said, "Blockchain will be as transformational as the internet. We've seen tremendous growth over the past year, and it's incredibly exciting to help bring blockchain to the world."

A per the 2020 NFT report by NonFungible.com, the non-fungible token (NFT) market tripled in 2020. The total value of transactions increasing by 299% year on year to more than $250m.

The Coatue led the latest for Alchemy. Other participating investors include the Glazer family, DFJ Growth, the Chainsmokers, K5 Global, and many others.

Some of the existing investors also include SignalFire, Coinbase, Pantera Capital, Stanford University, Communitas Capital, Charles Schwab, Jerry Yang, John Hennessy, and others.

Alchemy, as of now, has plans to use the new funds to expand its NFT blockchain developer platform to support new blockchains, open new offices in the US, and accelerate global expansion, notes the announcement.