Developer of hardware crypto wallets Foundation Devices bagged $7M in the seed round
Their ‘Passport’ wallet looks pretty much like an old good Nokia 3310
Foundation is a Boston-based company that designs and manufactures Bitcoin-centric tools that empower its users to reclaim “their sovereignty.” Founded in 2020, the company has just closed its seed fundraising rounds with $7 million that will be used towards the development of its computing platform.
The fundraising round was led by Polychain Capital, as well as new investors such as Greenfield Capital and Lightning Ventures, and a number of follow-on investments from existing investors, including Third Prime, Warburg Serres, Unpopular Ventures and Bolt.
Foundation’s main product is a hardware crypto wallet that is titled ‘Passport.’ It costs $260 and looks akin to an edgier, 2022 version of the original Nokia 3310. It has been designed with a mobile-centric approach in mind.
While it may seem to be the next elitist product of the crypto-craze, it seems that the company’s founders are eager to make an actual community. In contrast to other similar products in the market, Foundation open sources both the hardware and software for every device it releases.
While the company representatives abstain from releasing sales data, they note that since the first launch of the Passport in March 2022, thousands of products have been sold and the company is prepared for launching the second generation version of its main product. The founders note that in the face of the FTX scandal, demand for their product has increased, because people have become increasingly suspicious of online crypto exchanges and wallets.
