Mubadala backed Andalusia Labs raises $48 million and sets up headquarters in UAE

Mubadala backed Andalusia Labs raises $48 million and sets up headquarters in UAE

Mubadala backed Andalusia Labs, formerly known as RiskHarbor, has raised $48 million in a series A funding round and sets up its global headquarters in UAE Abu Dhabi in ADGM ( Abu Dhabi Global Market).

Andalusia Labs aims to create the industry’s security standards, instill confidence and resilience across the blockchain and Web3 industry, and help integrate this transformative technology into global financial services worldwide. Andalusia Labs intends to utilize the funds to accelerate product development, enhance institutional partnerships, and continue global expansion. The team is rapidly expanding, and hiring across finance, business development, AI, cryptography, distributed systems, and security engineering, among many other roles.

Andalusia, valued at $1 billion, is a risk management infrastructure for digital assets. It has received investment from  Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round with participation from UAE Mubadala Capital and existing investors Pantera Capital, Framework Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Digital Currency Group. Other existing investors include industry giant Coinbase, Proof Group, Nima Capital, Naval Ravikant, and founders, general partners, and executives from leading global organizations.

In conjunction with the round, Andalusia Labs announced the establishment of its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi’s Financial Center, Abu Dhabi Global Markets. As per the press release this strategic move underscores the company’s commitment to expanding its global footprint and highlights Abu Dhabi as a leading financial hub for digital assets that nurtures growth and fosters innovation through its progressive regulatory structure, unique connectivity to eastern and western markets, and being home to some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds providing strong access to institutional capital.

“Andalusia Labs is addressing one of the most significant challenges in the blockchain industry today,” said Ravi Mhatre, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners. “Financial institutions and blockchain companies grapple with the absence of robust risk management technologies to safeguard their assets. Raouf, Drew, and their team are the first to fill this gap by delivering mission-critical risk management infrastructure that not only paves the way for wider institutional adoption by an order of magnitude, but also empowers developers to create novel applications that are inherently safe and secure from day one.

Andalusia offers blockchain solutions for risk management. The first product is Karak is a Layer 2 blockchain introducing a novel risk management infrastructure for blockchain, Web3, and global financial services, prioritizing financial security while upholding the highest standards of security, scalability, and affordability. Karak represents a new approach to securing a wide array of financial products and services for blockchain, Web3, and global financial services.

Subsea natively built on the Karak blockchain, is the world’s leading risk management marketplace for digital assets that pioneered a completely automated, transparent, and impartial invariant detection mechanism to secure users against digital asset risks, hacks, and attacks. Subsea has secured over $1 billion in digital assets and built 100+ integrations with different blockchains and financial applications.

The second product is Watchtower is an institutional security platform for digital assets. Unlike current market models that lack realism, Watchtower is creating realistic market simulations in real time with real data for the first time. Currently, Watchtower is in private beta. The combination of Subsea and Watchtower built on the Karak blockchain will provide the foundational risk management and security required to build a safe environment for the industry.

“Blockchain is still in the very early innings, and we’re thrilled to have partners like Lightspeed and Mubadala who share our commitment and vision for building the premier risk management infrastructure for the world,” said Raouf Ben-Har and Drew Patel, founders of Andalusia Labs. “This funding will enable us to continue developing the best-in-class products for our users that will unlock the potential of digital assets and drive innovation in global financial services around the globe.”

“We’re honored to build our partnership with Raouf, Drew and the Andalusia Labs team. The opening of their global headquarters in Abu Dhabi will catalyze their global scaling efforts and strategically position the company for unparalleled growth. We look forward to supporting them on the next chapter of their journey in shaping the future of blockchain and Web3 parametric risk management,” said Shaun Lee, partner at Mubadala Capital.

Recently Swiss based Copper, an institutional digital asset infrastructure provider focusing on custody and collateral management, acquired  Abu Dhabi based Securrency Capital Limited, a full-service, regulated blockchain-enabled brokerage firm offering digital securities trading based in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), making its entry into the UAE market.

Another huge Blockchain investment for UAE Mubadala Fund

Another huge Blockchain investment for UAE Mubadala Fund

UAE Mubadala Investment Company PJSC (Mubadala) has acquired a majority stake in Abu Dhabi based blockchain enabled AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), the global exchange revolutionizing the voluntary carbon market. ACX is building the first fully regulated carbon trading exchange and carbon clearing house in Abu Dhabi. This comes after Mubadala Capital led a Series B funding round of $70 million for Ramp Network, whose mission is to make Web3 a reality by enabling mainstream adoption of products and services offered by pioneering blockchain ventures.

Mubadala did not disclose the value and size of the deal, but according to earlier reports, the sovereign fund was looking to acquire at least a 20% stake.

ACX is a global environmental commodities exchange that uses distributed ledger technology within a traditional commodity trading construct. It leverages blockchain architecture to create securitized carbon credits. This framework allows corporates to trade and finance carbon credits like conventional financial assets, increasing participation and investment in global carbon reduction and offset programs.

H.E. Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), stated, “The UAE continues to be a leader in leveraging the path to a lower carbon economy to safeguard the environment, drive down emissions and create lasting economic opportunities. The investment by Mubadala in ACX is a great testament to the commitment toward climate action, which will enable investors and businesses to voluntarily purchase verified emissions reductions in the form of carbon credits within the progressive ecosystem of ADGM. ADGM is committed to playing a leading role in facilitating the transition to a lower carbon economy by stimulating sustainable finance flows of investments.”

Commenting on this transaction, Badr Al Olama, Executive Director of UAE Clusters at Mubadala Investment Company, added, “AirCarbon Exchange is set to be an important player within the international sustainable finance ecosystem, supporting the growth of environmental commodities, especially in light of the on-going impact of climate change globally. This transaction will strengthen the UAE’s competitiveness on the world stage, while driving forward a future-focused sector that is vital to the UAE’s decarbonization journey.”

William Pazos, Managing Director & Co-Founder of ACX said, “Carbon markets are growing at breakneck speed, making innovation key to maintaining relevance. Mubadala and the broader Abu Dhabi government have the impetus to take a leading role in scaling carbon markets. We are honored to form a partnership with them and look forward to the exciting years ahead.”

ADGM is the first jurisdiction globally to regulate carbon credits and offsets as spot commodities supported by the introduction of environmental instruments as financial instruments, and to license carbon exchanges and clearing houses that operate both spot and derivatives markets.

UAE Mubadala Capital leads $70 million investment in Web3 Fintech startup Ramp

UAE Mubadala Capital leads $70 million investment in Web3 Fintech startup Ramp

UAE based Mubadala Capital led a Series B funding round of $70 million for Ramp Network, whose claim their mission is to make Web3 a reality by enabling mainstream adoption of  products and services offered by pioneering blockchain ventures.

Ramp Network does this by offering a payment infrastructure that connects crypto and traditional finance.

“Ramp has established a clear lead in the crypto gaming space by delivering a superior user experience, leading conversion rates and strong regulatory compliance,” said Frederic Lardieg at Mubadala Capital Ventures.

Among the investors was Korelya Capital,  Balderton Capital which led its $53 million Series A, and new investor Cogito Capital.

The firm has now raised over $120 million in the past year. It offers a payment product that lets users buy cryptocurrencies inside any application or website, essentially the Web3 answer to services like PayPal (PYPL) or Stripe. Its customers include GameStop (GME), crypto-based fantasy sports company Sorare, play-to-earn online game Axie Infinity and Ledger, maker of hardware crypto wallets.

Ramp plans to use the capital to hire for a number of senior roles. It has about 70 open positions, which means its staff will number 200, Co-founder and CEO Szymon Sypniewicz told CoinDesk in an email. The funding will also go toward adding local fiat currencies and payment methods as part of a global expansion.

Sypniewicz states, “Our goal is to keep building infrastructure to make Web3 easy and accessible. Despite current market conditions, we see a growing trend of web2 companies looking to move into Web3, and we’re uniquely positioned to help them through this transformation. That’s why we’re doubling down on growth.”

“Local payment methods reduce friction and costs for lower-income regions, while being more intuitive and accessible for more people in the world,” Sypniewicz said. “This is particularly true in LatAm and Asia, both regions that have seen explosive crypto adoption, and that we consider our next strategic targets.”

As part of the investment, Mubadala Capital’s Frederic Lardieg has joined Ramp’s as a director, and Korelya Capital partner Paul Degueuse joined as an observer.

Ramp said payment volumes have increased 240% year-over-year, and the number of unique users coming from integration partners rose by more than seven times.

It was not surprising to see Mubadala Capital invest in Blockchain crypto entity, given its open sponsorship of Token 2049 in London.

UAE Mubadala Capital takes first step in crypto blockchain direction and sponsors Token 2049 in London

UAE Mubadala Capital takes first step in crypto blockchain direction and sponsors Token 2049 in London

UAE Mubadala Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi sovereign fund Mubadala, is sponsoring for the first time a crypto event in the United Kingdom. Mubadala Capital, global asset managers with a presence in Abu Dhabi UAE, London, New York, Rio de Janeiro, and San Francisco, manages over $16 billion worth of assets.

Mubadala Capital is participating as a bronze sponsor at the Token 2049 event in London. While Mubadala Capital commenced operations in November 2021 as a subsidiary, it had been investing for over a decade. The wholly owned asset management is focused on investing in disruptive technologies.

The company had grown significantly in scale over the past decade, with $9 billion in third-party capital vehicles on behalf of over 50 institutional investors.

While Mubadala Capital has a strong portfolio of investments in companies across the sports media and entertainment sector including EMI Music Publishing, Endeavour Group Holdings, Reigning Champs, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES Network), it has not announced investments in the crypto or blockchain ecosystem.   It has acquired Canada Cartage, a leading logistics platform, as well as invested in Australian company SX Global which is set to promote the next FIM super cross World Championship, but nothing pertaining to blockchain or crypto that was made public. 

It also recently closed its first Fund in Brazil, under the name the Brazil Opportunities Fund I, with a total commitment of $322 million and in August 2021 it also closed a $1.6 billion third party equity fund focused on investing in media, sports, consumer and food services across North America and Europe.

Mubadala Capital has even invested $72.5 million in a Series A round in Pretzel Therapeutics which is developing a suite of first in class therapies that can correct mitochondrial DNA mutations, modulate mitochondrial DNA expression, and improve mitochondrial quality control.

It seems that their sponsorship of Token 2049, Europe’s crypto event, being held on the 9th-10th of November might be the first step in the direction of crypto and blockchain ecosystem.

TOKEN2049 is organized annually in London and Singapore, where founders and executives of the leading Web3 companies share their view on the market. It will have more than 150 speakers and 3000 attendees.

There were some statements made by the CEO and Managing Director of Mubadala, that showed signs that they were starting to look into the crypto ecosystem and already investing in blockchain.

CEO and Managing Director Khaldoon Al Mubarak said in an interview with CNBC back in 2021, “I think it (crypto) is real. This is a business that had $200 billion worth of value two years ago, and is $2.5 trillion value today and growing. So while many people are sceptics, I do not fall in that category.”

He added at the time, “The evolving regulatory environment will help crypto transition into something new. We are investing in the ecosystem around crypto, be it blockchain, energy usage.”

It is noteworthy that Mubadala was one of the investors in virtual asset exchange out of Abu Dhabi called Midchains.

Companies participating at Token 2049 include, Aave, Tezos, Tether, The Sandbox metaverse, BitMex exchange, Sygnum Digital bank, Elrond, Skale and so many more.

So could this be the start of a new journey for Mubadala Capital into the crypto, metaverse and blockchain space? It just might be and it would not be that surprising given the investments and funds targeting crypto and its ecosystem in the region.

The MENA region is witnessing more and more venture capitalist funds investing in crypto and blockchain entities, with names such as Cypher Capital, OasisX part of CryptoOasis ecosystem, Ghaf Capital, Shorooq Partners and even Investcorp launching funds focused on crypto, and Blockchain.

In addition, UAE artificial intelligence firm G42, which Mubadala is an investor in, launched a $10 billion fund to invest in late-stage technology companies. The fund is targeting a broad spectrum of technologies.

Even Canadian businessman, Kevin O’ Leary, nicknamed “Mr. Wonderful”, an advocate of cryptocurrency recently announced that he is now a UAE citizen because he wants to work freely in a region that has attracted investment by some of crypto’s heaviest hitters, including FTX, Binance and Crypto.com. He also announced the launch of a Web3.0 investment fund called Cipher with the lead investor coming from the UAE.

So we might be reading about Mubadala Capital’s latest investment in crypto, blockchain or both sooner than we think.