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Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the largest and most established venture capital firm according to the Wall Street Journal, has made its first investment in a blockchain company.

Silicon Valley's major VC provider, KPCB has previously invested in Amazon.com, Google and AOL, among other ventures focusing on digital, tech and science areas. The VC firm has now chosen to invest in Align Commerce, which uses blockchain technology to create a new cross-border payment system for small and medium-sized businesses.

The start-up has now raised $12.5 million in seed funding from Recruit Venture Partners, Pantera Capital, Digital Currency Group, and FS Venture Capital LLC. KPCB that led the investment will send its general partner Randy Komisar to take a seat on the Align Commerce's board of directors.

“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,” says KPCB general partner Randy Komisar.

“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,” he added.

Align Commerce created the Multi-Rail technology, which provides convenient and seamless international payments. Another start-up for moving money across borders using the blockchain Zed was launched by ZipZap in 2015. The mobile app Zed is designed specifically for migrant workers who want to send money home to their families.

 

Sonya Belova