Banking, healthcare, gaming, and real estate are just a few of the industries in which Blockchain is making a massive impact. Now a German company is set to disrupt the traditional fundraising platforms using the decade-old blockchain technology.
Newfund, an equity fundraising platform based on blockchain technology, on Wednesday, revealed the names of the first six companies which are set to issue equity on blockchain for the first time.
Though Newfund is headquartered in Berlin, the partnered firms are scattered all over the world and represent sectors like the internet of things (IoT), fintech, banking, biotech, and the automotive industry. The six firms are Brille24, Blockstate, Uniti, MySwoop, Next Big Thing, and Emflux Motors.
All these companies will not list their shares on any stock exchange; rather they will issue so-called "equity tokens" on Newfund’s platform through equity token offering (ETO).
“We have focused on creating a user-friendly and accessible platform for both the companies and the investors,” Zoe Adamovicz, Neufund’s CEO and co-founder, told VentureBeat. “In comparison to other primary offerings markets, we’re the natural evolution, combining world-class user experience and strong back-end technical and legal framework. Thanks to Neufund, you no longer have to be a developer with advanced programming skills to invest or fundraise over blockchain.”
Democratizing investment
Both blockchain and non-blockchain companies can list their “equity tokens” on the platform which will serve as a primary market. Along with the technical aspect, Newfund is also assuring a strong legal infrastructure as the platform is compliant with German laws.
Moreover, the platform will be accessible to both institutional and retail investors who can use either Ethereum or euro to purchase "equity tokens."
“Anyone can become an investor with Neufund, both big VC companies with access to multimillion capital and students with modest savings. All they need to do is to register on the Neufund platform, go through a simple verification process, and that is all - their account is set and ready for the investments. What’s exciting about our platform is that both the student and big investment company can invest in the same companies on the same conditions and within the same investment rounds,” Adamovicz added.
The first rounds of financing are expected to run until November, and over 1,000 investors have registered from both the traditional and crypto market, including names like Frank Thelen (Freigeist), Christophe Maire (Atlantic Labs), Alexander Lange (Index Ventures), and Max Kordek (Lisk).
“For now, we’re focusing fully on the first offerings that will be conducted on the platform. We’re also involved in a number of ecosystem building projects, such as our advisory to Maltese and German governments on creating distributed ledger technology (DLT) frameworks. I have just recently joined the Innovation Board advising to the Minister of Digitalization in Germany. I believe that only by creating stable and strong foundations can we build products that will positively disrupt industries, including the way we fundraise and invest. We are also working on a number of smaller projects that will help the community, such as a knowledge hub for security tokens and a mapping tool for DLT regulations around the world,” Adamovicz concluded.
