Lukka becomes newest crypto unicorn after $110M funding round
Crypto-asset software and data provider, Lukka has raised $110 million in a Series E round that values it at $1.3 billion as more investors are betting on the industry’s maturation. The private valuation means the New York-based firm finally attains the ‘unicorn’ title nearly seven years after the launch of its operations.
The latest capital injection was led by Marshall Wace, a global alternative asset manager. Additional investors include Miami International Holdings, Summer Capital, and SiriusPoint. The investment round was also bankrolled by previous investors Soros Fund Management, Liberty City Ventures, S&P Global, and CPA.com, who all contributed to the company’s Series D investment that raised $53 million in Mach 2021.
With fresh money in hand, Lukka plans to expand its software and data products, targeted at businesses beginning to adopt digital assets. It also plans to add additional features for customers dealing in derivatives, NFTs, DeFi , and other products of the crypto space.
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Lukka is careening toward the financial mainstream
Serving a customer base spanning the crypto native industry and traditional finance, Lukka has reportedly processed $2.1 trillion in unique transactions supporting 10,415 entities engaging in crypto activities.
“With the crypto-asset ecosystem entering a new phase of maturity, the need for Lukka’s institutional quality data and software solutions has never been more relevant,” said Robert Materazzi, CEO of Lukka. “We take pride in solving the most complex data challenges for our customers and now partnered with the world-class investors who participated in this round, we look forward to tackling all of the challenges that result from the incredible innovation that continues across the disruptive crypto industry.”
Lukka’s software and data solutions are primarily used to transform blockchain data into easy-to-use information that can support operations, such as financial and regulatory reporting.
These capabilities are extended through alliance with popular data offerings, in order to provide institutional players with reliable pricing and reference data to support investment operations.
Lukka, whose existing solutions primarily cover accounting and tax reporting, counts clients including digital asset exchanges and trading desks, accounting firms and funds. Last year, it signed S&P Dow Jones Indices to build its first cryptocurrency index. The move came as big players in the financial sector were increasing their wager that distributed ledger technologies like blockchain will be key to leadership in the future.
“We are extremely excited to partner with the visionary team at Lukka as they address the growing data, financial reporting, and analytics challenges of the crypto-asset ecosystem,” said Steven Binetter, Portfolio Manager at Marshall Wace. “Lukka’s comprehensive suite of reporting and analytics software and data solutions enables clients to meet a rapidly evolving set of critical needs. As crypto assets and blockchain redefine global commerce, Lukka is building the infrastructure for this future.”
