Japanese firm Recruit backs Beam’s $5M funding round via blockchain fund

Japanese internet giant Recruit has launched a $25 million blockchain fund, TechCrunch reported.

In a press release dated February 18, the company announced that the fund, called RSP Blockchain Tech Fund Pte. Ltd., was launched in November 2018. The fund aims to make “rapid investment” in blockchain-related startups, it said.

“The fund will focus on investment methods other than the acquisition of shares for the purpose of investment and, through investment activities in startup companies that use tokens to raise funds, it will promote the development and dissemination of blockchain technology,” Recruit said.

“The fund will primarily invest overseas and will consider its investment in accordance with the rules and regulations of each jurisdiction concerned.”

The fund has made its first investment in Beam, an Israeli blockchain startup. Beam has created a Mimblewimble-based Privacy Coin that secures transactions by enabling transaction data to be verified by a specified third party.

“[W]ith existing tokens, there is a challenge of potentially confidential transaction data information being leaked to third parties,” Recruit explains.

“While securing Auditability of transactions by allowing transaction data to be verified by a specified third party, Beam token provides a blockchain with a function that prevents the divulgation of transaction data to third parties and protects the user's transaction information.”

In a tweet, Beam confirmed the investment from Recruit and said that the funding will help it to “fulfill its mission in Japan too when it comes to deploying a compliant, scalable, and confidential cryptocurrency.”

Israeli news outlet Globes reported that Beam has raised a total of $5 million. In addition to Recruit, the funding round drew support from Ofer Rotem's Collider Ventures.

CoinDesk reported that Recruit has also invested in four other blockchain and crypto startups including Shift Payments, ShoCard, Veem, and BitFlyer.