Kleiner Perkins Makes First Bitcoin Startup Investment in Align Commerce

Align Commerce, San Francisco-based Blockchain payments processor announced the closure of a Series A funding round on Tuesday, November 17, with $12.5 million led by Kleiner Perkins. This marks the first time Venture Capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) has invested in a Bitcoin startup.

Randy Komisar, KPCB general partner and co-founder of Claris Corp., who will also be joining Align’s board said:

“We were looking for applications of the blockchain for the last couple of years in ways that could build real businesses and add real value that weren’t at the mercy of the currency valuation which will move up and down and all over the place. And of those blockchain companies, we invested in Align, because we believe it’s a market that’s underserved, with a CEO who understood it well and early traction from customers who reinforced that value.”

Align is a cross-border payments startup launched in January 2015 that allows its customers to use both traditional and blockchain financial opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses. Align uses Bitcoin blockchain technology for secure, transparent and fast money transfers in 60 countries worldwide. Users can convert funds into bitcoin and transfer it to the recipient in their national currency without any other financial intermediaries which cuts the costs of cross border payments.