David E. Rutter, CEO, R3: Galvanising blockchain and confidential computing start-ups
Global enterprise software firm R3’s Development Fund has reached the milestone of $10 million in capital deployed across over 30 investments in more than 20 of the most promising early-stage blockchain and confidential computing companies. The US-based R3 is a major enterprise blockchain solutions company.
The Fund invests in innovative start-ups building apps on R3’s enterprise blockchain platform, Corda, and its new confidential computing platform, Conclave. The Fund launched in 2019 to support firms leveraging blockchain for global commerce and to further establish R3’s presence in financial services, trade finance, insurance and digital assets.
“R3’s strength is derived from its community, which includes a diverse range of start-ups from a myriad of industries – from insurance to education, supply chain finance to payment messaging – building and deploying apps for customers across the globe. The R3 Development Fund is already known in these industries as an expert strategic investor with a strong track record in backing the most promising early-stage companies”, said David E. Rutter, CEO, R3.
“As ever at R3, collaboration is a key pillar of the Fund’s work. Now, more so than ever before, we recognise the importance and value of partnership and work very closely with all of our portfolio companies to provide support across a multitude of aspects, from fundraising to product and business development. We are excited to see so many of them going from strength to strength”, added Rutter.
With the launch of Conclave, the Fund expanded its investment thesis to include promising start-ups building with the confidential computing software. While the Fund’s core goal is to further the adoption of Corda and Conclave in R3’s core markets, it takes an opportunistic approach in other non-core segments such as digital advertising, media, healthcare and more.
The Fund’s portfolio companies show significant progress in both product and business development. In Q3 and Q4 of 2020, during the height of COVID-related economic turmoil, nearly a third of the Fund’s portfolio companies marked up their valuation through either equity or convertible loan note fundraises. The portfolio valuation is now at a historic highwater mark.
R3 leads the largest enterprise blockchain ecosystem in the world, comprised of hundreds of firms building and deploying applications on Corda, as well as institutions collectively exploring and embracing its technology to solve real-world problems. The Fund’s positions, a select subset of these firms, are all building forward-thinking, use-case specific enterprise products and solutions on Corda. In addition to its financial capital, the Fund devotes significant human capital resources to help advance portfolio companies with Go-To-Market assistance, legal and regulatory insights, technical consultation and a robust co-investor community.
Key achievements of the Fund
- 30-plus investments to date, across ~20 companies in financial services, trade finance, insurance, digital assets, and other sectors
- Total capital deployed to date is over $10 million, with more than sufficient funding to continue investment activity in 2021 and beyond
- Received 250-plus inbound investment opportunities since inception.
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