Factom Snags $4.2M Series A for Record-Encrypting Blockchain Tech

David Holley 10/5/16 http://www.xconomy.com/texas/2016/10/05/factom-snags-4-2m-series-a-for-record-encrypting-blockchain-tech/

Austin—Factom, an Austin, TX-based company that uses blockchain technology to secure and verify data such as public records and business documents, has raised a $4.2 million Series A funding round led by Tim Draper, the noted venture capitalist who runs investment firm Draper Associates.

The funding will be used to further develop Factom’s product line and software, which is based in recording and publishing data using blockchains. Factom co-founder and CEO Peter Kirby discussed the company’s business with Xconomy in detail last year. Like financial transactions made using Bitcoin, Factom encrypts its clients’ data and publishes the encrypted information in public ledgers, with only the publisher and client owning the key to the code.

Since then, Factom has developed a few product lines, known as Apollo, Iris, and Hera—focused on auditing, identifying a person’s identity with Internet-connected devices, and working with businesses and governments. (The company was named one of the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s A-List startups for 2016.)

“Securing data is mission critical for governments, banks, car companies, credit card companies, retailers and any company concerned with hacking,” Draper said in a press statement. “By decentralizing data through the blockchain, Factom avoids critical failures due to user error or hacker.”

In addition to funds associated with Draper Associates, other investors in the Series A round were Propertyinfo Corporation, Star Vista Capital, CashBUS, BnkToTheFuture, Fenbushi Corporation, Fenbushi Investment Fund, China Canada Angels, Plug and Play, Tospring Technology Limited, and angel investors Kevin Spiers, Darla Spiers, Hillary Ryan, Leon Fu, Roland Hicks, and the Marc Shubert Living Trust.