Business blockchain and digital currency Algorand raises $62 million

Boston, Massachusetts-based for-business blockchain and digital currency Algorand announced in a press release CoinReport received from March Communications, Algorand’s PR company, the closure of a $62 million equity investment.

Algorand also announced the addition of senior executive hires from the world’s top technology brands, with Fuze co-founder and chairman Steve Kokinos joining the company as CEO and uPromise co-founder and ex-LogMeln CMO W. Sean Ford coming aboard as COO.

The funding comes from a broad worldwide investment group that represents the digital currency, venture capital and financial services communities. The amount, together with the executive hires, will assist in launching the innovative blockchain protocol designed by MIT’s Silvio Micali.

Union Square Ventures managing partner Albert Wenger said in the news release we received, “At USV we believe that foundational innovation is required to deliver on the promise of blockchain technology. Algorand is building a crucial part of that with their novel consensus algorithm that solves for security, decentralization and scalability.”

Pillar Venture Capital founding partner Jamie Goldstein commented, “Algorand is a company uniquely approaching the blockchain and cryptocurrency space from both a technology and business perspective. Silvio Micali is an award-winning cryptographer, and the technology he and his team have developed has the potential to transform industries. With the addition of Steve and Sean, he is now joined by a senior leadership team that has deep expertise in building enterprise companies at scale.”

Turing Award winner, MIT computer science professor and Algorand founder Micali stated, “We have been developing Algorand as a technology for several years with the ultimate goal of creating a business-ready protocol for a truly global and decentralized economy.”

He added, “Our team of scientists is comprised of some of the most accomplished minds in cryptography, theory, and finance, and we are very excited to add the proven business acumen we need to help bring our protocol to market.”

Ford and Kokinos bring a combined more than four decades of proven technology experience in leading disrupting brands. They provide exceptional and deep know-how in driving the development of pioneering technology firms. Kokinos is a serial entrepreneur who has established and developed three successful firms – WebYes, Inc.; BladeLogic and Fuze, while Ford created an image for himself for operational execution and go-to-market proficiency at numerous technology firms, including LogMeln, Oracle and uPromise.

Algorand logo via their Twitter profile