Nasdaq Ventures leads blockchain startup Symbiont’s $20M Series B round

Blockchain startup Symbiont has raised $20 million in Series B funding round led by Nasdaq Ventures.

The funding round also saw participation from Galaxy Digital, Citi, Raptor Group, and others. Symbiont plans to use the funding to accelerate deployments across multiple business verticals including Data Management, Mortgages, Private Equity, and Syndicated Loans, as well as to expand its team.

“We are entering a much more realistic phase where people look at this technology and think seriously about where it makes sense to apply it and where it doesn’t,” Symbiont Chief Executive Officer Mark Smith told Bloomberg.

“We are leaving the peak of the hype cycle and entering the trough of disillusionment, especially for people who inappropriately applied this technology hoping it would become a panacea for solving all their problems.”

Founded in 2013, Symbiont is a blockchain and smart contract company headquartered in New York. It has developed Assembly – an enterprise blockchain and smart contract platform. The company boasts of partnerships with industry leaders such as IPREO, Ranieri and Vanguard.

Ranieri Solutions is working with Symbiont to explore opportunities to use its platform to systemically improve all aspects of the mortgage industry. With Vanguard, the startup is working to develop a system to track index constituents, Fortune reported.

According to the official release, Nasdaq will explore new business opportunities to utilize Assembly with existing and new clients that are seeking smart contract and tokenization solutions.

"Leveraging our financial markets and blockchain technology experience, our anchor partners like Vanguard, Lewis Ranieri, and Nasdaq will benefit from developing new distributed applications on Assembly, our enterprise blockchain and smart contract platform,” Smith said.

“Assembly provides the opportunity for new participants to enter the digital asset market and offers existing participants a superior infrastructure on which to build the future of financial markets."