Auradine secures $81M funding towards Blockchain innovation

Auradine secures $81 million funding towards Blockchain innovation

Posted by Matthew Calleja Posted: May 17, 2023

Auradine, a privacy-centric blockchain and artificial intelligence startup, has successfully secured $81 million in Series A funding led by venture capital firms Celesta Capital and Mayfield.

Securing $81M in Series A funding

This significant financial boost enables the company to advance its development of cutting-edge solutions in scalability, sustainability, and security. Auradine’s CEO, Rajiv Khemani, emphasises the profound impact these areas of focus will have on the financial sector.

Investors in Auradine’s Series A round include renowned Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings, along with Stanford University, Cota Capital, and DCVC. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company boasts a talented workforce of over 40 individuals, comprising software engineers and cybersecurity professionals who have previously excelled at esteemed companies such as Palo Alto Networks, Marvell, Intel, Google, and Wells Fargo.

According to the Auradine website, the team holds an impressive track record of delivering market-leading products that have collectively generated over $10 billion in revenues across prominent infrastructure companies and unicorns.

Auradine’s inaugural product, slated for release this summer, will take the form of a comprehensive system-level solution, complete with software and cloud management capabilities, meticulously tailored for blockchain security applications. These offerings will be designed specifically for deployment within data centre environments, targeting major enterprises seeking secure and reliable solutions.

“Our primary clientele will be large enterprises that house our products in their data centres,” explains Rajiv Khemani, co-founder and CEO of Auradine, in an interview with Decrypt. He further highlights the forthcoming product’s focus on blockchain security within data centre settings.

Auradine is poised to make significant strides in the coming months, with the imminent launch of its first product. With a strong emphasis on catering to clients within the financial and healthcare sectors, among others, Auradine aims to establish itself as a trusted provider of innovative solutions across various industries.

“Our overarching vision extends far and wide,” stated Khemani. “When considering internet infrastructure, we firmly believe that blockchain security and privacy hold immense potential, particularly in terms of their significant implications for the financial sector.”

From silicon chips to system-level solutions

The genesis of the company’s name is rooted in a fusion of Aurum, the Latin word for gold, and Dyne, a unit of measurement for force. “By combining these elements, we aimed to evoke a force of gold. Furthermore, the .com domain was available with an ‘i,’ hence how the name came into being,” Khemani explained.

Khemani previously served as the co-founder and CEO of Innovium, a silicon chip manufacturer catering to cloud data companies. In 2021, semiconductor giant Marvell Technology acquired Innovium for an estimated $1.1 billion.

“In my previous ventures, including Innovium, we primarily focused on chip sales,” Khemani reflected. “However, in the case of Auradine, we have adopted a different approach. Instead of selling chips, we offer comprehensive system-level solutions accompanied by software. Additionally, we provide cloud software as a service offerings.”

As part of their investment in the startup, Sriram Viswanathan, managing partner at Celesta Capital, and Navin Chaddha, managing director at Mayfield, have joined Auradine’s board. Mayfield recently announced a total of $955 million raised across its two venture capital funds.

In a statement, Chaddha expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “The Auradine team, composed of ambitious entrepreneurs, is constructing a web infrastructure platform that will facilitate a new era of decentralised and distributed applications. We are thrilled to be an early investor in their journey to leverage AI, blockchain, and privacy technologies in their quest to become an industry leader.”