• BCB Group

  Participated · Series A · Jan 2022

  BCB Group is a London-based digital asset technology provider that offers business accounts, cryptocurrency services, foreign-exchange market liquidity, and custody to many of the world’s largest crypto-engaged financial institutions. The company operates a platform aimed at payments and market infrastructure for institutional clients. It plans to use new capital to expand payments and market infrastructure across more regions and to acquire strategic stakes in critical infrastructure partners. Financially, BCB Group has closed a $60 million Series A, the largest Series A in the UK blockchain industry, and previously completed a strategic funding round in March 2021. The company positions itself as a connector for the global crypto industry, servicing large crypto-engaged financial institutions and building deeper infrastructure for market growth. BCB Group is a U.K.-based business banking challenger for the crypto industry that provides payments, trading and treasury services. The firm launched a treasury services offering aimed at crypto-curious chief financial officers last month. Management says BCB is profitable and has seen about 19-times volume growth over the past 12 months, processing over $4 billion in payments and trades in February 2021. The recent capital raise is intended to fund the pursuit of additional regulatory licenses and support international expansion. BCB plans to seek more licenses in the U.K., EU and Switzerland — including the Swiss Fintech license, which ties into the Swiss National Bank — and to push into Switzerland and Singapore. The company raised $4.5M in the latest round and expects to raise a larger $10M–$15M round later this year.

• Chingari

  Participated · Series A · Jan 2022

  Chingari is a short-form video app that claims over 110+ million downloads and 35+ million monthly active users, with a two-fold increase in users since April 2021. The company is focused on expanding regional content by supporting 20+ languages and increasing reach into Tier III and IV markets. Product plans include launching live-streaming, socio-commerce and audio chat features to boost creator engagement and enable brand collaborations. Chingari recently launched its crypto token $GARI (debut event featured brand ambassador Salman Khan) and intends to list the token on six global exchanges including FTX, Huobi, Kucoin, OKEX, Gate.IO and MEXC Global. The startup aims to grow its user base to 200+ million by the end of 2022. It plans to invest in backend technology and AI/ML talent to enrich user experience and creator monetization. Chingari is a video‑streaming "super-app" founded by Sumit Ghosh and Biswatma Nayak that positioned itself as a TikTok replacement in India. The company, which started in 2018, targets users in tier‑2 and tier‑3 towns and non‑urban areas. It has grown from 10 million users to 50 million active users and has been downloaded around 86 million times. Chingari is built on the Solana blockchain and has launched a native GARI token, which rewards users for engagement and can be used to buy creators' NFTs and merchandise. After a private fundraising round that raised $19 from leading crypto VCs, Chingari is moving forward with a public token sale facilitated by Republic. Proceeds are intended to further develop the product on Solana and to expand user engagement worldwide. Chingari operates a short-form video platform with strong user retention and growth. The company reported 56 million users and plans to use fresh capital to improve its content portfolio, accelerate user acquisition, and expand hiring. Following the latest investment, Chingari will integrate OnMobile’s direct-to-consumer gaming platform, Onmo, into its app and pursue additional product integrations with OnMobile. Leadership and strategic support are being strengthened: OnMobile CEO Krish Seshadri will join Chingari’s board. The startup has previously raised $1.4 million from a group of early investors. Chingari has also engaged celebrities in its cap table via non-cash share allotments to support global brand efforts. Chingari is a social media platform focused on short-form content that gained traction after the government banned several Chinese apps. The app pays content creators a 30% commission on advertisements. It reports about 25 million downloads and roughly 3 million daily active users. The company says it will use recent funding to hire, accelerate product development, ramp up its platform, and improve consumer engagement. Chingari recently won the Indian government's Aatmanirbhar App Innovation Challenge in the social media category and received a ₹20 lakh prize. The company announced the funding from New Delhi.

No current team members are available.