Digital asset risk infrastructure-focused Andalusia Labs, formerly known as RiskHarbor, has raised $48 million in a Series A round at a valuation “north of $1 billion,” the company exclusively shared with TechCrunch.
Lightspeed Venture partners led the round; and other investors include Mubadala Capital as well as existing participants like Pantera Capital, Framework Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures and Digital Currency Group, among others.
Andalusia Labs has reached a major milestone, securing $48 million in a Series A funding round. This significant investment values the company at over $1 billion. Formerly known as RiskHarbor, the digital asset risk infrastructure-focused company is dedicated to providing support for institutions, developers, and consumers in the digital asset world.
The funding round was led by Lightspeed Venture partners, with investments from esteemed partners such as Mubadala Capital, Pantera Capital, Framework Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Digital Currency Group. Along with this substantial investment, Andalusia Labs also revealed the opening of their global headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
The co-founder of Andalusia Labs, Raouf Ben-Har, shared that the $48 million will be used to expand their product development and team. To date, the company has raised a total of about $51 million.
The startup boasts three advanced digital asset technology solutions – a layer-2 blockchain called Karak, a crypto risk management marketplace called Subsea, and a security-centric institutional platform named Watchtower. Each of these offerings caters to a specific niche while providing comprehensive support for digital assets.
- Karak: The layer-2 blockchain, which just launched its public testnet, is designed to provide essential backbone support in the blockchain and web3 world, where security threats are omnipresent.
- Subsea: This crypto risk management marketplace has already secured over $1 billion in crypto and boasts more than 100 integrations with various blockchains and financial applications.
- Watchtower: Built on the Karak blockchain, Watchtower primarily caters to institutional clients and offers a security-centric approach to digital asset management.
Co-founder Drew Patel shared that Subsea and Watchtower were both developed on the Karak blockchain. However, the company is primarily focused on catering to developers. Patel explained, “We are focused on creative developers who are building the next generation of blockchain applications.”
The startup initially began by serving both consumers and institutions but received an “overwhelming demand” from companies looking to integrate Andalusia Labs’ products. Patel elaborated, “This demand quickly outpaced our team’s capacity by 100x.” Therefore, the company now primarily serves developers.
Patel emphasized that risk management is the “bedrock of financial stability” and is especially critical in the digital asset space, where hacks and threats are rampant. He added, “It acts as a shield against potential financial losses, safeguards against fraud, and ensures compliance with a dynamic risk landscape.”
The co-founder also acknowledged that the crypto industry is constantly evolving, with market volatility and changing regulations. As such, it requires a “sophisticated and nuanced approach” to risk management.
As of now, Andalusia Labs is focused on developing its infrastructure and expanding its product offerings to protect against “new risks and other esoteric real-world applications.” Patel also shared that the team is continually experimenting with new moonshot ideas as they are “builders at heart.”
