Payment technology firm Ripple Labs, has closed a US$28 million venture funding round that includes traditional derivatives exchange firm CME Group, among a collection of strategic and venture investors.
San Francisco-based Ripple Labs is engaged in the development of new payments technology that utilizes a distributed ledger protocol — similar to the technology that underlies virtual currencies, such as bitcoin — to transact much more efficiently than traditional payments systems allow.
The firm said Tuesday it has closed a round of funding that includes the venture arms of CME Group and global data storage company, Seagate Technology.
The roster of new investors also includes Wicklow Capital, an investment vehicle for the co-founders of high frequency trading firm, GETCO (now known as KCG Holdings).
The company says that the mix of traditional venture funds and strategic investors will support its vision to enable an Internet of Value (IoV) by powering real-time, secure transaction settlement for banks and companies worldwide. It stresses that these new investors also highlight its focus on using the Ripple protocol for market making and corporate treasury uses, along with banking applications.
“Our mission is to modernize decades-old payments infrastructure with IP-based technology so value moves around the world as freely, easily, securely and transparently as information on the web today,” said Chris Larsen, Ripple Labs CEO and co-founder.
“Financial institutions, market makers and corporations are laying the foundation for this Internet of Value, contributing and providing liquidity for global payments. With investors like CME Group and Seagate joining the fold, we’re well positioned to accelerate adoption amongst these key customers.”
“Ripple is transforming global settlement architecture, and its momentum in payments will give way to an expanding portfolio of use cases in the financial markets,” said Rumi Morales, executive director of the strategic investment group at CME Group. “Joining this funding round is another example of how we are investing in technologies that impact our industry.”
The company says that this latest fundraising round will help it continue to grow its presence internationally, including Asia.
Earlier this month, Ripple settled allegations that it violated U.S. federal law and didn’t have adequate anti-money laundering (AML) controls. A representative of the firm also appeared before Canada’s Standing Senate Committee on Banking Trade and Commerce, which is currently studying the development of digital currency and innovative payment systems.