Pocket Network, a Tampa-based Web 3 developer, is worth more than $1.5 billion after raising $10 million in its latest funding round.
The company, which launched in July 2020, has been on an upward trajectory from the start. Blockchain and cryptocurrency have taken off, unlike other startup industries that stumbled during the coronavirus pandemic.
Six months after launching, Pocket raised nearly $10 million in revenue. Its total network revenue exceeded $56 million in December alone. It is currently selling its tokens at $3, bringing its value to more than $1.5 billion.
“It’s really cool for Pocket to be a lot of people’s first entry into crypto, which is really exciting for me,” Michael O’Rourke, CEO and co-founder of Pocket, said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
The latest funding round was led by New York-based Republic Capital, RockTree Capital, Seattle-based Arrington Capital and Australia-based C² Ventures. Coinshares, Decentral Park Capital and Dominance Ventures also participated in the round. This is Pocket’s third institutional funding round and has raised roughly $22 million.
“Pocket Network’s market-based approach to infrastructure properly demonstrates how Web3-native services can outcompete Web2 incumbents both in economics and performance,” Alex Ye, managing director of Republic Crypto said in a statement. “For blockchain app developers and node runners alike, Pocket is a clear no-brainer.”
The funding will be used in part to double the company’s employees in the next six months, growing to a still-lean 60 people. It will also be used for marketing and participation in hackathons but mainly give O’Rourke the space he needs to grow.
“What it does is give us runway; it allows us to spend a bit more,” O’Rourke said. “We’re expanding a lot into Asia and doing a lot of hackathons, which is where a lot of money is going to. And when we’re hiring, we’re offering competitive salaries.”
Unlike other companies that hit the coveted billion-dollar “unicorn” status, as it is widely known as in tech circles, Pocket does not have an exit plan. The company offers a decentralized token, and since it is an infrastructure, it cannot be acquired or file an initial public offering. Instead, O’Rourke’s sight has been set on hitting the next milestone.
“I expect Pocket to become a trillion-dollar protocol,” he said. “The space is growing incredibly fast, and there isn’t any end in sight at this point.”
He also hopes the news shines a brighter light on the Tampa Bay blockchain and cryptocurrency scene, which has steadily grown in the last 12 months. There’s Nuke Goldstein, co-founder of New York-based Celsius, who bought a home in Tampa after visiting for one day. And funds like RSK Trading Group LLC launched locally after its then-Chicago founder moved to the region. Tampa-based BlockSpaces, which has long been in the blockchain space, announced earlier this week it raised nearly $6 million.
“No one expected this to come out of Tampa, and I hope we can really attract more people to come here,” he said. “I’m already seeing more crypto startups locally, which is really exciting; we just have to build the density.”
A previous version of this story reported it was a $2.5 billion valuation.
