Indian ‘green’ blockchain startup raises $100 million, turns unicorn in a crypto bear market

• 5ire, a sustainable blockchain firm in India has secured $100 million Series A funding from UK-based conglomerate SRAM & MRAM.
• 5ire claims to be the only sustainable blockchain company from India.
• Alphabit, Marshland Capital, Launchpool Labs, Moonrock Capital are among primary private and institutional investors.

5ire, a sustainable blockchain network, said that it has raised $100 million in Series A funding, from UK-based SRAM & MRAM group. This round has taken its valuation to $1.5 billion – making it a unicorn, a status given to startups that hit $1 billion in valuation.

5ire claims to be the only green blockchain unicorn in India which rewards its validators and creditors for taking sustainable actions. It is based on the Layer 1 blockchain network (BNB Smartchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum) that can approve transactions without the need of a third network.

The company was founded in 2021 by Indian-origin entrepreneurs, Pratik Gauri and Prateek Dwivedi, along with web3 financier Vilma Mattila.

“We are on a mission to embed sustainability into blockchain and shift the current paradigm from ‘for-profit’ to ‘for-benefit’. Becoming the world’s first and only sustainable unicorn born out of India in just 11 months, is testimony that we are on the right path. We are moving towards the fifth industrial revolution,” said Pratik Gauri, CEO and Founder of 5ire.

The funds raised will be used for business expansion and extending 5ire’s footprint across three continents including Asia, North America and Europe, with India as the hub of operations. It will also hire the best talent in the industry across functions like product, engineering, marketing etc.

Indian VC funding has slowed down in the last few months and added to that, cryptocrash too has made investors nervous. However, neither of these trends affected 5ire.

“We have great confidence in moving forward with investments in sustainable technologies. As a scientist, I have always believed in finding better ways to do things, and 5ire is committed to finding solutions for the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr Sailesh Lachu Hiranandani, chairman of SRAM & MRAM.

5ire has earlier raised funds from Alphabit, Marshland Capital, Launchpool Labs, Moonrock Capital alongside others.

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