Decentralized identity startup Spruce raises $34 million in funding round led by a16z

Spruce, a startup that developed a toolkit for decentralized identity, has raised $34 million in a Series A round led by a16z.

Other participants in the round include Robot Ventures, Okta Ventures, OrangeDAO and SCB 10X, the company announced Wednesday.

“With the new funding, Spruce will spearhead research in cutting-edge privacy and usability technology for identity, grow its product teams, and continue to execute on partnerships across the ecosystem,” the company said in a statement.

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Spruce’s sign-in with Ethereum function allows users to control their digital identity without the need to rely on a traditional intermediary.

Their product suite includes SpruceID and Kepler, which offer “self-sovereign” storage. It “powers the necessary authentication, credentialing, and storage needed for portable reputation for users, providing decentralized access control to data, and interoperability between Web2 APIs and Web3,” per their website.

Last year, the startup raised $7.5 million in a seed round led by Ethereal Ventures and Electric Capital, according to CoinDesk.

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Catarina is a reporter for The Block based in New York City. Before joining the team, she covered local news at Patch.com and at the New York Daily News. She started her career in Lisbon, Portugal, where she worked for publications such as Público and Sábado. She graduated from NYU with a MA in Journalism. Feel free to email any comments or tips to [email protected] or to reach out on Twitter (@catarinalsm).