5ire Raises $100M to Fund Expansion of Sustainable Blockchain

Blockchain layer 1 network 5ire has raised $100 million in Series A funding from U.K.-based conglomerate Sram and Mram, it said Friday.

5ire, which is incorporated in Dubai, said in a press release it plans to use the funds to expand into Asia, North America and Europe while keeping India as the hub of operations and core area of focus.

The funding values 5ire at $1.5 billion, arguably making it both the world's first blockchain unicorn with sustainability at its core and the fastest growing blockchain in India, it said. 5ire's business model is to embed the for-benefit paradigm by highly incentivizing practices that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), CEO and co-founder Pratik Gauri said. The company calls the implementation Proof-of-Benefit.

Gauri added that 5ire will empower decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) and working groups to help accelerate the implementation of the U.N.’s 17 SDG goals.

Sailesh Hiranandani, the founder and chairman of Sram & Mram, said 5ire's blockchain is one that "governments and large corporations will use" in the near future, giving the example of Malaysia.

"The Far East is very proactive and keen on adopting blockchain, like Malaysian Immigration and The Health Card app," Hiranandani said in an email. "We feel entry into the market with a layer 1 partner which is sustainable is ideal and 5ire being a sustainable blockchain is perfect for us. This will benefit our group to communicate on blocks as we deal with various countries and have offices in over 8 countries," said Hiranandani.

Sram & Mram comprises 10 companies across more than 35 locations. Its interests include agriculture, artificial intelligence, hedge fund management, media and publishing, hospitality and IT.

Gauri founded 5ire in August 2021 with fellow Indians Prateek Dwivedi and Vilma Matilla. Gauri and Dwivedi, friends for more than a decade, came up with the idea at an Indian tea shop writing the first thoughts down on a napkin, he said.

The company embodies the fifth industrial revolution, Gauri said, adding that "the secret sauce of our idea is to not use Proof-of-Stake or Proof-of-Work but instead reward sustainable behavior by using Proof-of-Benefit."

The company raised $21 million in its seed round by October with participation from Alphabit, Marshland Capital and Moonrock Capital among others.