Neufund operates a blockchain-powered platform that connects investors and entrepreneurs and facilitates tokenised equity offerings. The company, founded in 2016 and described in the article as a German/Berlin fintech startup, paused fundraising campaigns and tokenised equity offerings in June due to regulatory concerns. It has raised follow-on capital to secure regulatory compliance and resume activity: the recent financing is intended to obtain a financial license and to fund hiring and product development. Neufund says an additional financial license would allow it to expand its list of services and products while maintaining a compliant and transparent approach. The company intends to re-open the platform for entrepreneurs at the start of 2021. Neufund is a blockchain-based asset tokenization and equity investment platform that has built a legally-enforceable link between an on-chain token and real-world equity under German jurisdiction. Founded in 2016 and based in Berlin, the company enables virtually any incorporated entity worldwide to conduct a public offering on blockchain. Neufund is running an Equity Token Offering (ETO) — a public, fully-compliant equity-on-blockchain sale of its parent, Fifth Force GmbH — that permits fundraising in ETH and EUR, tradability on secondary markets, follow-up rounds, and programmable investor governance such as dividend distribution and automated compliance. The ETO has raised €3 million so far, roughly halfway through the offering and double the soft cap, with most capital coming in euros. The public offering is scheduled to end on December 16. Investors in the round include a range of European VCs, angels and private individuals, with named participants such as Udo Schloemer, Chris Zippel, Dario Suter and existing backers Freigeist Capital and Atlantic Labs. Neufund is an open-source, public platform that lets startups, SMBs and established companies hold Equity Token Offerings (ETOs) to issue crypto tokens with legal ties to equity. Its protocol distinguishes Equity Tokens from regular ICO tokens by giving token holders rights similar to shareholders. The project has built a split economy that includes a protocol token, Neumark (NEU), which participants earn by committing capital and which represents their share of the Neufund ecosystem. Neufund emphasizes lowered investment barriers, liquidity for private equity, and educational user experience with tutorials to onboard non-crypto investors. The company raised $11.6M (€10M) in a pre-sale funding round to launch its Initial Capital Building Mechanism (ICBM). The ICBM is scheduled to start on November 17, 2017 at 11:00 UTC and run for 30 days. Neufund is developing an open platform that lets investors acquire startup equity in the form of tradable crypto tokens. The company offers a legal and technical solution that bridges traditional company shares and blockchain-based tokens, aiming to make essentially illiquid assets immediately liquid. Neufund says the transaction costs for issuing and managing such tokens are close to zero and that tokenized equity can be traded freely on cryptocurrency exchanges. The startup positions its tokens as a new type of ownership that represents both intrinsic network value and off-chain business value. Neufund published a whitepaper and an animated video outlining its vision and will use the recent funding to build the platform. The article notes broader ICO activity (more than $250M raised last year) and skepticism from traditional VCs about whether token-based fundraising will yield successful startups.

Total raised

$22M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Dec 2020