Blockchain Data Storage Startup Bluzelle Raises $1.5 Million Series A

Blockchain startup Bluzelle has raised $1.5 million in a new Series A funding round to support the development of its data storage service.

Backing the round are venture capital firms Global Brain, LUN Partners Capital and True Global, according to today's announcement. Based in Singapore and first launched in 2014, Bluzelle is akin to projects like Filecoin or Storj, among others, which use the tech as a means to collectivize and monetize spare storage capacity.

In an interview, CEO Pavel Bains drew on these similarities, and spoke to Bluzelle fitting into a wider array of blockchain-powered technology layers, akin to what Oracle builds on top of the Windows operating system.

"Different blockchains are complementary systems," he told CoinDesk. "For data storage in a decentralized world we might use ethereum, we might use Hyperledger, or other options as the operating system – and we'll use Bluzelle for the data storage and management."

The firm has pursued other blockchain initiatives in the past, working on a blockchain-based insurance app for KPMG, as well as assisting in Deloitte's integration of the Ripple distributed payment system.

Looking ahead, the startup is eyeing the launch of an initial coin offering (ICO) sometime in October. The Bluzelle Tokens, in turn, will serve as the basis for the incentive system underlying the community of hardware operators that actually put up their data capacity for rent.

Disclosure: CoinDesk is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which has an ownership stake in Ripple. 

Image courtesy of Bluzelle