Blockchain startup Orbs closes $118 million to fund development of blockchain platform for large-scale consumer applications

Orbs, the blockchain platform built for large-scale consumer applications, announced it has raised more than $118 million to fund the development and launch of the Orbs platform. The company plans to bring product to market in June, 2018. Orbs is a public blockchain built for the needs of apps with millions of users, from SLAs to adjustable fee models to on-demand capacity. It provides the blockchain infrastructure that makes it possible for established consumer brands to transition their millions of existing users to the new decentralized economy.

The Orbs platform is a blockchain Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for large scale consumer applications. Orbs provides the infrastructure for decentralized applications in a similar manner to existing cloud computing platforms which provide the infrastructure for centralized applications. The core difference between Orbs and other blockchains is that Orbs is built from the ground up for the consumer application market and tailored to its very specific set of requirements.

Orbs’ goal is to commoditize blockchain infrastructure for large scale consumer applications. Orbs is building a fully decentralized public platform that makes the transition to blockchain easier for the industry as a whole. The platform is specially designed to meet the needs of large scale consumer applications, with a core product experience inspired by well-established infrastructure solutions such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and familiar terminology like Service Level Agreements (SLA) and dedicated resources.

Founded in 2017 by three veteran entrepreneurs: Tal Kol, Uriel Peled and Daniel Peled, the trio has experience building consumer applications including successful acquisitions to Alibaba and Wix.com. In order to achieve their goal of building a blockchain for consumer apps, they’ve recruited over 60 employees from leading startups and academic institutions.

Orbs has recently released its two cornerstone documents, a position paper outlining its technology and strategy and the white paper for their own consensus algorithm, Helix. Both papers outline the company’s laser focus on technological solutions needed for the consumer application market’s unique challenges.

Among the early adopters in the Orbs network are Orbs’ initial design partners, whose input has shaped Orbs’ product decisions since its inception. Design partners include the chat app, Kik, adtech giant, Zinc designed with ironSource, business intelligence platform, Endor and payment platforms, PumaPay and Zooz.

“The positive reception of our project is a sign of the confidence our partners have in Orbs, and the demand for a specialized blockchain which can transform the consumer applications marketplace,” said Uriel Peled, co-founder of Orbs. “The consumer applications marketplace is ripe for disruption. Orbs has the unique background and insights to design a blockchain for the specific needs of large consumer application developers.”

The launch of an alpha version for early design partners will take place in June, allowing them to start mirroring traffic on the Orbs blockchain and testing.

Orbs is a public blockchain built for the needs of consumer applications with millions of users, from SLAs to adjustable fee models to on-demand capacity. Orbs is working to create new blockchain business models that are fair, stable and offer a more empowering user experience.