Emerging from stealth mode, Bastion says it has raised $25 million in seed funding. The company was founded by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) alums and, of course, a16z Crypto led the funding round that also received the backing of Autograph, Laser Digital Ventures, Not Boring Capital, Robot Ventures, Alchemy Ventures, and Aptos Ventures.
Founded by former a16z CTO and CSO, Bastion is a “Web3 orchestrator” – a white-label platform to simplify the process for enterprises to utilize blockchain technology.
Bastion is said to “eliminate the need to individually source solutions such as custody, wallet management, and user onboarding,” while combining the simplicity of web2 with the efficiencies of web3.
Co-founder Nassim Eddequiouaq says they founded the company to enable businesses to onboard their products and end-users into a web3 environment without the complicated, overwhelming experience that exists today.
“Web3 technologies have tremendous promise, but until now have lacked the enterprise-level infrastructure necessary to support tangible web3 use cases. Additionally, the blockchain industry is at an inflection point, ready to transition into a regulated and safe environment that allows brands and enterprises to thrive. We believe that by leveraging the ease and high-quality user interfaces already working in web2, we can create more immersive and engaging products for users without disrupting the user experience.”
Eddequiouaq took to Twitter to outline his vision:
1/ Today we’re launching @BastionPlatform, a new type of infrastructure enabling end-to-end web3 experiences that finally feel like web2.
My co-founder @riyazdf & I are also announcing a $25M funding round led by @a16zcrypto to revolutionize how people pay, play, connect & shop.
— Nass Eddequiouaq (@nassyweazy) September 18, 2023
Co-founder Riyaz Faizullabhoy said that many of the products and services can be radically improved by blockchain technology, and they want to bring blockchain tech to mass adoption.
“With Bastion, startups and legacy businesses alike now have a pragmatic, accessible platform to improve complex e-commerce flows including subscriptions, buy-now-pay-later, loyalty programs, and more. We are pushing the boundaries of what enterprises can offer in an increasingly digital world, and Bastion is going to redefine how enterprises leverage this technology to improve their product offerings and user experiences.”