21e6, LLC - Secretive ASIC manufacturer that raised $5 million

[dexX7]

Related:

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Secretive Bitcoin Startup 21 Reveals Record Funds, Hints at Mass Consumer Play

For the past year and a half, a Silicon Valley startup has quietly convinced some of the biggest names in venture capital to back its effort to turn the technology behind bitcoin into a mass-marketed phenomenon.

Now, that company, which bears the name 21 Inc., is emerging from stealth to announce it has raised $116 million in venture funding, the most ever by a startup in the digital-currency sector, based on data from bitcoin news service Coindesk.

What it's not yet publicizing is the precise nature of its operations, Chief Executive and co-founder Matthew Pauker will only say there will be "several interesting developments over the next weeks and months" about software and hardware products designed "to drive mainstream adoption of bitcoin."

Since its launch six years ago by a mysterious coder who used the presumed pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin has drawn media attention as a wildly volatile digital currency. But amid stories of scandal, theft and turbulent prices, the general public has largely ignored the arguments of vocal supporters, who tout the digital currency's potential to cut costs by removing middlemen from finance and commerce.

According to Silicon Valley investors such as those taking stakes in 21, say that failure to gain mass adoption is partly because the public's attention has been misguidedly focused on bitcoin's limited potential as a digital alternative to traditional currencies. In reality, they say, its underlying technology has far wider applications than that. Unlike the currency transactions that are generally associated with bitcoin, these new uses could range from lawyer-free smart contracts to tamper-proof online voting systems.

21's lead investors include U.S. venture-capital heavyweights Andreessen Horowitz and RRE Ventures, along with Chinese private-equity firm Yuan Capital, with a strategic stake going to chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.QCOM +0.25% through its venture-capital unit.

Additionally, Khosla Ventures and Data Collective have invested in 21, as well as chief executives and founders from various tech companies, including PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, eBay Inc. co-founder Jeff Skoll, Dropbox Inc. CEO Drew Houston, Expedia Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Zynga Inc. co-founder Mark Pincus.

Mr. Pauker said Qualcomm's involvement is key. He hopes to exploit the Bridgewater, N.J., chipmaker's mass-marketing and production capabilities in the development of a suite of consumer products that integrate with bitcoin's core technology called the "blockchain." This technology takes the form of a public, digital ledger that's maintained by a decentralized network of thousands of independently owned computers.

Qualcomm's involvement could spur speculation that 21 has its sights on the so-called "Internet of Things." That's the idea that a myriad of smart, Internet-connected appliances will in the future communicate with servers, networks and each other to optimize their operation, maintenance and energy usage without direct human involvement.

Some developers believe that bitcoin technology could play a key role in transparently managing the vast flow of information generated by these smart gadgets. The decentralized blockchain ledgers are free from the control of any one party, so smart appliances can in theory connect with computers built by other entities safely without worrying that the information was manipulated.

Starting out under the earlier name of 21e6, the company – which takes its name from the 21-million limit that bitcoin's managing algorithm imposes on the total number of bitcoins to be released – spurred intense speculation in November 2013, when a regulatory filing revealed a $5 million fundraise.

Members of the bitcoin community speculated about a secret vehicle for Silicon Valley elites to develop high-powered equipment that could dominate bitcoin mining. Mr. Pauker's comments about a consumer focus suggest that isn't where the company has ended up.

The initial secrecy around 21 was "solely for pragmatic reasons – we didn't have anything to say to the world," – says co-founder Balaji Srinivasan, who is also a partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He compares 21's work in building bitcoin products for the general public to the sequential development of 56-kilobit Internet modems, international fiber cables and wireless Internet towers, which all helped bring the Internet into people's homes in the late 1990s.

This notion also has parallels with the mass Internet appeal achieved in the 1990s by the development of the Netscape browser by Marc Andreessen, a co-founder of Mr. Srinivasan's firm. Asked for his views on 21, Mr. Andreessen said it "is working on what they — and we — consider to be core infrastructure for mainstreaming bitcoin."

21's announcement extends this year's upswing in venture capitalists' digital-currency investments, highlighted by January's $75 million fundraising for San Francisco-based bitcoin wallet provider Coinbase Inc., whose investors include the New York Stock Exchange. Bitcoin-focused venture capital more than tripled to $347 million in 2014 from a year earlier, according Coindesk.

The money flow is paving the way for products and services aimed at transitioning bitcoin from its volatile, Wild West beginnings into an era of more secure infrastructure and mass appeal.

A week after its funding announcement, Coinbase unveiled the first licensed U.S bitcoin currency exchange. Later, high-tech security company BitGo Inc. launched a unique insurance program, while the New York-based Digital Currency Group's Bitcoin Investment Trust earned regulatory approval to become the first publicly offered fund dedicated to owning bitcoin.

Well-funded custodial and financial services companies Xapo Ltd. and Circle Internet Financial Ltd. have also developed high-tech security and insurance projects. Meanwhile, San Francisco startup BitFury Holding BV has launched new, high-powered chips to take bitcoin mining to a new level of intensity.

None of this will matter if bitcoin doesn't achieve mass adoption, says Mr. Pauker.

"Bitcoin is going to change the way that people and businesses and even machines interact with each other," he says. "But for bitcoin to realize that vision we need mass adoption. It can't just be for Silicon Valley."

[philipma1957]

Related:

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/03/10/secretive-bitcoin-startup-21-reveals-record-funds-hints-at-mass-consumer-play/

Secretive Bitcoin Startup 21 Reveals Record Funds, Hints at Mass Consumer Play

For the past year and a half, a Silicon Valley startup has quietly convinced some of the biggest names in venture capital to back its effort to turn the technology behind bitcoin into a mass-marketed phenomenon.

Now, that company, which bears the name 21 Inc., is emerging from stealth to announce it has raised $116 million in venture funding, the most ever by a startup in the digital-currency sector, based on data from bitcoin news service Coindesk.

What it's not yet publicizing is the precise nature of its operations, Chief Executive and co-founder Matthew Pauker will only say there will be "several interesting developments over the next weeks and months" about software and hardware products designed "to drive mainstream adoption of bitcoin."

Since its launch six years ago by a mysterious coder who used the presumed pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin has drawn media attention as a wildly volatile digital currency. But amid stories of scandal, theft and turbulent prices, the general public has largely ignored the arguments of vocal supporters, who tout the digital currency's potential to cut costs by removing middlemen from finance and commerce.

According to Silicon Valley investors such as those taking stakes in 21, say that failure to gain mass adoption is partly because the public's attention has been misguidedly focused on bitcoin's limited potential as a digital alternative to traditional currencies. In reality, they say, its underlying technology has far wider applications than that. Unlike the currency transactions that are generally associated with bitcoin, these new uses could range from lawyer-free smart contracts to tamper-proof online voting systems.

21's lead investors include U.S. venture-capital heavyweights Andreessen Horowitz and RRE Ventures, along with Chinese private-equity firm Yuan Capital, with a strategic stake going to chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.QCOM +0.25% through its venture-capital unit.

Additionally, Khosla Ventures and Data Collective have invested in 21, as well as chief executives and founders from various tech companies, including PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin, eBay Inc. co-founder Jeff Skoll, Dropbox Inc. CEO Drew Houston, Expedia Inc. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi and Zynga Inc. co-founder Mark Pincus.

Mr. Pauker said Qualcomm's involvement is key. He hopes to exploit the Bridgewater, N.J., chipmaker's mass-marketing and production capabilities in the development of a suite of consumer products that integrate with bitcoin's core technology called the "blockchain." This technology takes the form of a public, digital ledger that's maintained by a decentralized network of thousands of independently owned computers.

Qualcomm's involvement could spur speculation that 21 has its sights on the so-called "Internet of Things." That's the idea that a myriad of smart, Internet-connected appliances will in the future communicate with servers, networks and each other to optimize their operation, maintenance and energy usage without direct human involvement.

Some developers believe that bitcoin technology could play a key role in transparently managing the vast flow of information generated by these smart gadgets. The decentralized blockchain ledgers are free from the control of any one party, so smart appliances can in theory connect with computers built by other entities safely without worrying that the information was manipulated.

Starting out under the earlier name of 21e6, the company – which takes its name from the 21-million limit that bitcoin's managing algorithm imposes on the total number of bitcoins to be released – spurred intense speculation in November 2013, when a regulatory filing revealed a $5 million fundraise.

Members of the bitcoin community speculated about a secret vehicle for Silicon Valley elites to develop high-powered equipment that could dominate bitcoin mining. Mr. Pauker's comments about a consumer focus suggest that isn't where the company has ended up.

The initial secrecy around 21 was "solely for pragmatic reasons – we didn't have anything to say to the world," – says co-founder Balaji Srinivasan, who is also a partner at Andreessen Horowitz. He compares 21's work in building bitcoin products for the general public to the sequential development of 56-kilobit Internet modems, international fiber cables and wireless Internet towers, which all helped bring the Internet into people's homes in the late 1990s.

This notion also has parallels with the mass Internet appeal achieved in the 1990s by the development of the Netscape browser by Marc Andreessen, a co-founder of Mr. Srinivasan's firm. Asked for his views on 21, Mr. Andreessen said it "is working on what they — and we — consider to be core infrastructure for mainstreaming bitcoin."

21's announcement extends this year's upswing in venture capitalists' digital-currency investments, highlighted by January's $75 million fundraising for San Francisco-based bitcoin wallet provider Coinbase Inc., whose investors include the New York Stock Exchange. Bitcoin-focused venture capital more than tripled to $347 million in 2014 from a year earlier, according Coindesk.

The money flow is paving the way for products and services aimed at transitioning bitcoin from its volatile, Wild West beginnings into an era of more secure infrastructure and mass appeal.

A week after its funding announcement, Coinbase unveiled the first licensed U.S bitcoin currency exchange. Later, high-tech security company BitGo Inc. launched a unique insurance program, while the New York-based Digital Currency Group's Bitcoin Investment Trust earned regulatory approval to become the first publicly offered fund dedicated to owning bitcoin.

Well-funded custodial and financial services companies Xapo Ltd. and Circle Internet Financial Ltd. have also developed high-tech security and insurance projects. Meanwhile, San Francisco startup BitFury Holding BV has launched new, high-powered chips to take bitcoin mining to a new level of intensity.

None of this will matter if bitcoin doesn't achieve mass adoption, says Mr. Pauker.

"Bitcoin is going to change the way that people and businesses and even machines interact with each other," he says. "But for bitcoin to realize that vision we need mass adoption. It can't just be for Silicon Valley."

hold on to your coins boys and girls.  I see 500usd coming up

[sidehack]

Yeah I'm pretty excited about the prospect of cluttering up the blockchain with masses of IoT traffic. I really hope my internet-connected washing machine doesn't spend all my coins on frivolous purchases.</sarcasm eyeroll='true'>

[daddyfatsax]

Yeah I'm pretty excited about the prospect of cluttering up the blockchain with masses of IoT traffic. I really hope my internet-connected washing machine doesn't spend all my coins on frivolous purchases.</sarcasm eyeroll='true'>

[jonnybravo0311]

Yeah I'm pretty excited about the prospect of cluttering up the blockchain with masses of IoT traffic. I really hope my internet-connected washing machine doesn't spend all my coins on frivolous purchases.</sarcasm eyeroll='true'>

Hey... that new, fancy soap pod is just what your washing machine needed!  It knows better than you do what is frivolous and what isn't... so sit back, relax and enjoy the beginnings of servitude to our machine masters

[sidehack]

"The spam attack took place between 23 December 2013 and 6 January this year, said Proofpoint in a statement. In total, it said, about 750,000 messages were sent as part of the junk mail campaign. The emails were routed through the compromised gadgets.

About 25% of the messages seen by Proofpoint researchers did not pass through laptops, desktops or smartphones, it said.

Instead, the malware managed to get itself installed on other smart devices such as kitchen appliances, the home media systems on which people store copied DVDs and web-connected televisions."

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25780908



Sorry if I'm the only curmudgeon not happy about a digitally immersed world, but I don't want spambots able to rout Giant P3n15 emails through the wireless sensors attached to my regular-sized one. And I certainly don't want the already-rapidly-expanding bitcoin blockchain filled with them either. Maybe if they want to start their own Spamcoin for IOT devices and leave the rest of us alone that'd be alright.

[bclcjunkie]

isn't this exactly what NSA and CIA would want? what next? implantable devices with blockchain that would pave way to electronic cash? nice bait if you ask me... i wouldn't be surprised if behind all that investment Uncle Sam had the biggest pie...

"The spam attack took place between 23 December 2013 and 6 January this year, said Proofpoint in a statement. In total, it said, about 750,000 messages were sent as part of the junk mail campaign. The emails were routed through the compromised gadgets.

About 25% of the messages seen by Proofpoint researchers did not pass through laptops, desktops or smartphones, it said.

Instead, the malware managed to get itself installed on other smart devices such as kitchen appliances, the home media systems on which people store copied DVDs and web-connected televisions."

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-25780908



Sorry if I'm the only curmudgeon not happy about a digitally immersed world, but I don't want spambots able to rout Giant P3n15 emails through the wireless sensors attached to my regular-sized one. And I certainly don't want the already-rapidly-expanding bitcoin blockchain filled with them either. Maybe if they want to start their own Spamcoin for IOT devices and leave the rest of us alone that'd be alright.

[sidehack]

Who knows. What they're doing could turn out to be pretty great. I just have a big loaf of cynicism and make toast every time someone mentions Internet of Things.

[Biodom]

Internet of things is the first step toward machine AI that would be totally independent at some point.
singularity?

[iCEBREAKER]

Yeah I'm pretty excited about the prospect of cluttering up the blockchain with masses of IoT traffic. I really hope my internet-connected washing machine doesn't spend all my coins on frivolous purchases.</sarcasm eyeroll='true'>

I demand my dryer send me a secure msg over the blockchain when my clothes are done.  Hell, why not use the ledger as a giant Tivo too?

If the blockchain gets cluttered with IoT traffic we'll just increase the blocksize to 1TB.  Hard drives are cheap, don'tcha know?   

Seriously though, it would be cool if 21's secret thingy is some kind of cross between a node and/or miner/router/Trezor.  Mmm...Bitcoin appliances...   

[lex_minutor]

Here's some news from the company (21e6 Inc or 21 Inc):
They just raised another $75M in series C funding.
http://www.coindesk.com/21-intel-bitcoin-mining-strategy/


Some interesting quotes:

Intel factories, the documents suggested, were responsible for at least two generations of 21 bitcoin mining chips, a 0.57 w/GH 22nm FinFET chip (codenamed CyrusOne) and a 0.22 w/GH 22nm chip (codenamed Brownfield).

The documents suggest 21 had sought to build 20,000-server, 26-megawatt datacenters to serve as the center of a mining pool that could ensure block rewards.
As an example of the potential power of its pool, 21's mining operations generated approximately 5,700 BTC in 2013 and 69,000 BTC the following year, according to the document.
By the time its chips were to be embedded into Internet of Things (IoT) devices, 21 projected its cost to produce 1 BTC could be as low as $7.45.

[Meech]

Very cool.  The veil of the Dark Side has risen.  Maybe this is where SFARDS contest idea was getting at.  I don't know about placing Asics in everyday devices though.  Did I read it right, 75% of profit would go to 21 inc. being hardcoded in the device? 
These my young Padawan's are wonderous times for the community.  Hope they don't go the whole KNC or BitFury route. 
Next months are interesting to say the least.

[lex_minutor]

The more interesting thing was the 0.22 w/GH 22nm chip, 2.5 times more efficient than the latest generation miners.
If they already have that and are running them they're making good profit.

[Powell]

The chip names are actually datacenter names. 

CyrusOne has large datacenters all around America and started out here in Texas.  http://www.cyrusone.com/  I remember reading they had rolled out some large implementation in an earlier post with them.

Brownfield = http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/news-analysis/pennsylvania-company-hopes-brownfield-becomes-data-center-gold/91898.fullarticle

[Sine(X)]

The chip names are actually datacenter names.  
CyrusOne has large datacenters all around America and started out here in Texas.  http://www.cyrusone.com/  I remember reading they had rolled out some large implementation in an earlier post with them.
Brownfield = http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/news-analysis/pennsylvania-company-hopes-brownfield-becomes-data-center-gold/91898.fullarticle

How much MW or PHS does 21co have? They say that have a lot of Phs ans they are cool guys. I'm looking at organofcorti statistics and I don't see 21co. Where are they?
Looks like bla-bla-bla

[dimke_yu]

That is hard to know even for pools that are public. My guess is that they are in range between 10-20 PH/s

[valkir]

The chip names are actually datacenter names.  
CyrusOne has large datacenters all around America and started out here in Texas.  http://www.cyrusone.com/  I remember reading they had rolled out some large implementation in an earlier post with them.
Brownfield = http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/news-analysis/pennsylvania-company-hopes-brownfield-becomes-data-center-gold/91898.fullarticle

How much MW or PHS does 21co have? They say that have a lot of Phs ans they are cool guys. I'm looking at organofcorti statistics and I don't see 21co. Where are they?
Looks like bla-bla-bla

They have 2.2 % of the network.
http://whomined.com/

So I guess they have around 10 PH

[JorgeStolfi]

The more interesting thing was the 0.22 w/GH 22nm chip, 2.5 times more efficient than the latest generation miners.
If they already have that and are running them they're making good profit.

Is it known how many GH/s does that chip put out?  Any guesses about the size and manufacturing cost of the chip?

[RoadStress]

The more interesting thing was the 0.22 w/GH 22nm chip, 2.5 times more efficient than the latest generation miners.
If they already have that and are running them they're making good profit.

Another statement pulled out of the ass.

[Biodom]

The more interesting thing was the 0.22 w/GH 22nm chip, 2.5 times more efficient than the latest generation miners.
If they already have that and are running them they're making good profit.

Another statement pulled out of the ass.

you might want to reconsider this comment
http://www.coindesk.com/21-intel-bitcoin-mining-strategy/

For example, 21 indicated it had been processing bitcoin transactions with what it called the "only chip" built at computing giant Intel’s foundry, touting close relationship with US computing giant Intel.

Intel factories, the documents suggested, were responsible for at least two generations of 21 bitcoin mining chips, a 0.57 w/GH 22nm FinFET chip (codenamed CyrusOne) and a 0.22 w/GH 22nm chip (codenamed Brownfield).