Arweave Secures $5 Million in Funding Round Led By Andreessen Horowitz

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has led a $5 million funding round for Arweave, a blockchain-startup focused on permanent online data storage.

On Nov. 5, the Arweave project reported that it had attracted world-leading funds in a $5 million investment round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z Crypto, with the participation of other top investors such as Union Square Ventures and Multicoin Capital.

Arweave hopes to be the Library of Alexandria

The startup was founded in mid-2017 by Sam Williams on the promise to permanently host data, web apps and pages on its so-called permaweb. Williams commented on the partnerships:

“These new long-term partners join us on a mission to build the world’s first truly permanent information storage system. Through the Arweave protocol, we envisage a future where humanity’s valuable history, knowledge, and applications can never be lost.”

Williams further explained what the permaweb entails, saying that one should: 

“[I]magine the Library of Alexandria, a vast catalogue of human knowledge and experience, which is now impervious to fire, flood, and other disasters. This is the permaweb.”

The investment will help the company to further develop its outreach and adoption efforts. The new partners will join an already impressive list of supporters, such as 1kx’s Lasse Clausen and Christopher Heymann, Arrington XRP Capital, and the Techstars global network, amongst others.

“99.9% of all money laundering crimes go unprosecuted.”

In October, Andreessen Horowitz general partner Kathryn Haun claimed that “99.9% of all money laundering crimes go unprosecuted.” Haun explained that the financial services industry spends an estimated $20 billion a year on anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer checks — but questioned whether any of these measures are actually working. From the perspective of AML, she said, when it comes to “moving to a decentralized system, I think we’re kidding ourselves if we think that’s going to change too much.”