Blockchain startup Fluent today announced that it has successfully closed a $1.6 million seed round.
The series fund, according to the company’s latest press release, was led by ff Venture Capital, and received additional support from Digital Currency Group, Draper Associates, Crosscut Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, Lindbergh Tech Fund, and the St. Louis Arch Angels. Prior to raising the aforementioned sum, Fluent had already raised around $1 million in a pre-seed financing round led by Draper Associates.
The US-based startup was confidentially launched last year with an aim to build a robust financial network to enable real-time, peer-to-peer financial transactions between stakeholders. Like many other startups, Fluent has also leveraged Bitcoin’s distributed ledger technology to build their own frictionless applications for global commerce — a private blockchain.
“We’re leveraging distributed ledger technology to drastically reduce risk, streamline and automate settlement, and connect previously [soloed] solutions in trade and the financial supply chain,” said Lamar Wilson, CEO of Fluent. “Building on and connecting parties on one frictionless financial fabric enables us to build solutions never before possible on antiquated, disconnected settlement rails.”
Fluent’s core mission, however, seems in line with what R3CEV has already introduced with its much-hyped blockchain consortium. Only the latter has already garnered support from over 42 international banking and finance companies — including Barclays, JP Morgan, etc. — to create a SWIFT-like network of banks.
Fluent doesn’t seem to be much behind as well — the startup has already named Commerce Bancshares, a US bank, as its pilot participant. It now aims to work with more enterprises to further study and pro-and-cons of the blockchain technology, before becoming – possibly – the first financial supply chain network for big enterprises around the globe.
In the near future, the startup wants to channel its $2.6 million to grow engineering staff, escalate sales, and bolster business development.
“We look forward to working with additional banking and corporate partners to help create a new paradigm in trade and supply chain finance,” asserts Wilson.