MUFG Innovation Partners invests in Chainalysis
In April, newly established MUFG Innovation Partners (MUIP, previously profiled here) announced its second investment, and first outside of Japan, this time into cryptocurrency investigation and compliance solutions provider Chainalysis, a New York City-headquartered company founded in 2014.
MUFG Innovation Partners joined Sozo Ventures in a USD 6m raise to close Chainalysis’ USD 36m Series B round, following a USD 30m commitment from Accel and Benchmark in February. The funds are earmarked for the expansion of Chainalysis’ business in Asia Pacific, including the opening of a regional office. Over the past year, the company had reportedly more than doubled the number of clients it serves in APAC and increased its contracted revenue from clients in the region by more than 16 times.
In its press release, Nobutake Suzuki, President & CEO of MUFG Innovation Partners, commented: “Chainalysis’s compliance technology is important to providing the insight and anti-money laundering controls banks need in order to establish next generation compliance frameworks. Today’s announcement signals our joint commitment to growing the cryptocurrency industry in Japan and Asia Pacific more soundly and broadly. Further, it is our hope that this investment will lead MUFG toward forming a closer strategic relationship with Chainalysis.”
Chainalysis leverages deep analytics and machine learning while maintaining data privacy to help law enforcement agencies track illicit cryptocurrency transactions. The company also provides financial institutions and cryptocurrency businesses with insights to help assess and enhance their controls as necessary. MUIP’s primary focus is to pursue partnerships and business synergies between MUFG group companies and portfolio companies. It plans to continue seeking investment opportunities in the financial technology (fintech) sector.
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