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DevRev, a Palo Alto-based startup that has built a developer CRM for product-led growth, has raised $20 million — and did so by tokenizing its fundraising process.

Why it matters: By putting investments on the blockchain, DevRev believes it can open its fundraising process to customers and other advocates for its platform.

Context: DevRev was founded by former Nutanix CEO Dheeraj Pandey, along with Nutanix tech lead Manoj Agarwal, both of whom left that company early last year to build the startup. 

Pandey says the decision to raise additional capital in this way came partly from his experience at Nutanix, where the company raised nearly $2 billion during his tenure.

“We realized that we have a lot of end users who are developers and engineers on our platform that want to be investors, too,” he told Axios.

Last July, the company raised $50 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Mayfield, among others. 

How it works: The DevRev SAFE token is being offered under a Reg D filing with the SEC and represents a digital version of a typical SAFE security.

Each token is worth $50,000, is hosted on the ethereum blockchain and will be transferred to an investor’s wallet once their investment is closed.

To purchase one, Pandey says investors will need to establish an identity with their wallet, show their intent that they want to purchase a token, and then DevRev will do a back office process to prove that the purchaser is an accredited investor.

“Then we come back, and we ask them to wire money to us, and then we basically give them the tokens in return,” he explains.

Yes, but: It’s important to note that DevRev is not putting tokens out on the open market or allowing them to be traded or sold on a public exchange.

And when DevRev raises a priced round, the tokens will be converted into equity and burned.

What we’re watching: While it’s still early, DevRev is not ruling out the possibility of making tokenized fundraising a part of its product suite, potentially helping its customers to raise money from their customers.

“If we did a good job of this, then over time, we can productize this for others,” Pandey says. 

Editor's note. This story has been updated to show that DevRev has already raised the $20 million. 

DevRev raised $20M by putting its fundraising on the blockchain

The company wants to open fundraising to accredited customers

Illustration of many rows of pixelated coins stacked on top of each other 

Fintech

DevRev, a Palo Alto-based startup that has built a developer CRM for product-led growth, has raised $20 million — and did so by tokenizing its fundraising process.Why it matters: By putting investments on the blockchain, DevRev believes it can open its fundraising process to customers and other advocates for its platform.

DevRev raised $20M by putting its fundraising on the blockchain

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