Photo: Brave Software / Twitter
Brave, the privacy-centric internet browser, is expected to hold a Series A equity round to raise funds for its growth and development. It is believed that the fundraising round will be announced in the nearest future.
What We Know about Brave
The browser is known for its extremely successful fundraising experience in 2017 when it managed to receive $35 million in less than a minute. But how did its history begin?
Brave was created in 2015 as an open source ad-blocking browser which is focused on the privacy of its users. Developers had an aim to enhance the web browsing experience for people and decided to offer a browser that would be able to block the potentially dangerous ads that collect personal data and may negatively influence computers’ performance.
“Online advertisers have been exploiting user data for years without consent, sometimes even infecting devices with malware. It’s no wonder that 200 million users worldwide have adopted ad-blocking to defend themselves. Viewing content on the Internet should not come at the expense of one’s safety,” in such a way Brave Software CEO Brendan Eich explained their idea.
Owing to its capacities, it managed to attract the attention of a number of prominent investors such as Pantera Capital, Founders Fund and Digital Currency Group. In its seed round, it raised $4.5 million.
All in all, since its founding, the browser attracted $42 million in investments.
Just recently, Brave has made headlined once again when it announced that now users could be paid in crypto for surfing the web and watching the privacy-respecting ads.
As Coinspeaker has reported, the company started testing all privacy-respecting ads in 2019 and now the new technology is available in the main version of the browser for all types of personal computers. But to use it, people should have the latest version of the desktop web browser and sign up for Brave Rewards. After that, they are provided with the choice to view Brave ads. It is highlighted that the ads that could be viewed by Brave’s users are not dangerous for their privacy.
Users have an option to redeem the tokens for such awards as restaurant vouchers and gift cards. The funds are transferred to the user’s wallets through Brave’s Basic Attention Token (BAT).
New Fundraising Round
So, while the crypto market is expanding after a too exhausting bearish trend that lasted for nearly a year, it is clear that the desire to expand has captured Brave as well. According to the sources familiar with the matter, the browser seeks to gather $30–$50 million at a valuation of roughly $133 million.
Nevertheless, this information hasn’t been still confirmed officially as the company’s spokesperson hasn’t commented on the situation upon the request of journalists.
