PARIS, June 08, 2017 (GLOBE
NEWSWIRE) -- Stratumn, a leading
provider of network solutions securing processes between
enterprises and their stakeholders through blockchain technology
and advanced cryptography, announces today the raising of €7M in a
series A funding from Open CNP, the Corporate Venture arm of CNP
Assurances, Otium Venture, Nasdaq and Digital Currency
Group.
Less than two years after its
inception and one year after its seed financing, Stratumn has now
accomplished the largest funding round to date in the European
blockchain and data security ecosystem.
Stratumn
helps companies securing and streamlining regulatory and compliance
procedures
As companies become ever more
connected to one another, and the security and integrity of their
data is challenged, centrally managed information systems have
proved their limitations. Stratumn's Proof of Process
Technology solves a core dilemma for organizations:
streamlining regulatory and compliance procedures, improving
customer privacy and data protection, while reducing operational
and back office costs. Stratumn's suite of network solutions
provides organizations with an efficient and reliable way to
streamline and secure the exchange of data between partners,
customers, and regulators. Enterprises who adopt this technology
benefit from better accountability, traceability and integrity of
their records, while regulators may audit process data in
real-time.
Stratumn has already developed
more than 10 projects with large companies such as CNP Assurances,
Allianz France, Nasdaq, Thales, Bureau Veritas or Bouygues
Immobilier, and is currently France's leading company using the
blockchain technology in terms of staff and projects
development.
The funding
will accelerate Stratumn's development and expansion into the
U.S.
This funding round constitutes a
major step for Stratumn, as it will allow the company to accelerate
its development, notably by focusing on research, product design,
and business development, as well as by continuing to attract
talented individuals to join its 15-person strong international
team - the company aims to double its size by the end of 2018.
Stratumn also intends to develop its international activities
through a planned expansion into the United States by the end of
the year. This would allow the company to become closer to key
stakeholders and decision centres in their core market segments.
This round, led by Open CNP, the
Corporate Venture arm of CNP Assurances, with the participation of
Nasdaq, Digital Currency Group and existing investor Otium Venture,
combines major corporate and financial investors from France and
the United States. In addition to enabling Stratumn's development
through additional funding, these investors will support Stratumn's
growth in their respective fields and geographies through
partnerships and knowledge sharing, which will help the company
reinforce its existing links with the insurance, capital markets
and digital currency ecosystems.
Stratumn and Nasdaq have also
entered into a co-research and development partnership, which aims
at leveraging Proof of Process Technology to enhance the
software solutions and products for the capital markets,
particularly in Nasdaq's Market Technology business and its own
enterprise technology unit.
Richard
Caetano, Co-founder and CEO of
Stratumn declared: "We are
very pleased to have successfully closed this series A round, which
represents a major milestone for Stratumn. Our new investors will
enable Stratumn to continue and accelerate its development and more
effectively address growing needs in our markets. We are especially
happy with the continued and increased support from Otium Venture,
who have accompanied us for a year, and excited to welcome CNP
Assurances, Nasdaq and Digital Currency Group, who will help us
reinforce Stratumn's presence in the insurance and capital markets
sectors. We are very confident about Stratumn's development
prospects in the upcoming months and years. The successful closing
of this round, as well as our investor's commitment as strategic
partners, is rocket fuel which will power the development and
launch of Proof of Process Technology."
Magali Noé,
CDO of CNP Assurances said: "Blockchain technology makes
processes more reliable and streamlines information flows for
consortiums. We would like to promote this technology to our
partners and to insurance industry players using the Proof of
Process Technology developed by Stratumn. This investment is part
of the €100 million that CNP Assurances allocates to start-ups over
a five-year period through its Open CNP programme and is the fourth
Open CNP investment to date."
Bruno
Raillard, Partner at Otium
Venture, added: "We have been strong
supporters since Stratumn's seed round one year ago. We were struck
by the clarity and ambition of Richard's vision: enabling companies
to embed security, traceability and transparency into their
mission-critical business processes. The opportunity is massive.
It's not about the $40bn+ of potential savings on compliance and
back-office costs in capital markets, insurance and energy alone;
it's about building the layer of trust that the network economy
really needs to blossom. We're thrilled to see Stratumn grow and to
be part of this important step."
Nasdaq Head
of Corporate Strategy Jean-Jacques
Louis said: "An investment in
Stratumn was a natural development for us given the experimentation
projects we have successfully executed with Richard and his team
over the past year. We look forward to furthering our relationship
between Stratumn and our technology team by collaborating on
developing and applying unique financial technology that will
bolster and strengthen the current and next generation products for
our customers and ourselves. This approach fits with the mission of
Nasdaq and, in particularly, our newly formed Nasdaq
Ventures."
Digital
Currency Group CEO Barry
Silbert said: "We are eager to
have Stratumn join the DCG family, which now includes 100 companies
across 28 countries. Stratumn's Proof of Process Technology solves
critical challenges around verifying and auditing the integrity of
data used to make critical business decisions, and we look forward
to helping the team build partnerships across our network of
blockchain service providers and enterprises."
About
Stratumn: Founded in Paris in 2015 by Richard
Caetano, an American entrepreneur, Stephan Florquin and Sebastien
Couture, Stratumn develops network technology to secure processes
between enterprise partners, customers and regulators.
Its Proof of Process Technology combines blockchain
networks and advanced cryptography to streamline and secure the
critical processes between organizations while insuring data
privacy and reducing operational frictions and costs. Learn more
at www.stratumn.com or follow @StratumnHQ for
updates on Stratumn.
About CNP
Assurances: CNP Assurances is France's leading
personal insurer with net profit of €1,200 million in 2016. The
Group also has operations in other European countries and in Latin
America, with a significant presence in Brazil. It has more than 35
million personal risk/protection insureds worldwide and more than
14 million savings and pensions policyholders. For 160 years, CNP
Assurances has been protecting people against the risks of everyday
life. The Group designs and manages life insurance, pension,
personal risk insurance and protection products (term creditor
insurance and health insurance). CNP Assurances has been listed on
the first market of the Paris Stock Exchange since 1998 and has a
stable shareholder structure thanks to the signing of an agreement
between its major shareholders (Caisse des Dépôts, La Banque
Postale, Groupe BPCE and the French State).
About Otium
Venture: Otium is a thesis-driven, early-stage
European VC, backing the founders building the creative society.
Otium Venture is Otium's tech-focused team, investing in startups
that create value through software, data and network effects. To
learn more, please visit: otiumcapital.com.
About
Nasdaq: Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) is a leading global
provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing,
information and public company services. Through its diverse
portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize
and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven
technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating
today's global capital markets. As the creator of the world's first
electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 89
marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world's securities
transactions. Nasdaq is home to 3,800 total listings with a market
value of $11 trillion. To learn more,
visit: http://business.nasdaq.com.
About
Digital Currency Group: Digital Currency Group builds
and supports bitcoin and blockchain companies by leveraging its
insights, network, and access to capital. Based in New York City,
DCG is the most active investor in the blockchain industry with
over 100 investments in nearly 30 countries.
Visit www.dcg.co or follow @DCGCo for updates on DCG and
its dynamic ecosystem.
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