Decentralized tech startup Satellite IM closes $10.5M to offer the world’s first web3 communications platform with private messaging

Data breaches in the US hit a record high in 2021 affecting nearly 300 million victims. The cost of a data breach continues to skyrocket. According to a recent IBM study conducted by the Ponemon Institute, data breaches cost American companies on average more than $8 million per incident, with big breaches (more than 50 million records) costing $388 million.

One of the ways to reduce the risks of data breaches is the encryption of sensitive data. Encryption could also be a “safe harbor,” that limits organizations’ exposure to breaches. Although encryption cannot prevent a data breach, however, it can block hackers from accessing sensitive data once it’s stolen, thus mitigating the risk to your organization.

Today, there is a plethora of encryption software on the market. But one startup is taking a different approach with the creation of the world’s first web3 communications platform designed to encrypt the data so that it can be read by who users intend it to.

Enter Satellite IM, a Boston-based tech startup and a fully decentralized peer-to-peer voice, video, and text communication platform that stores files on a distributed network so redundancy comes built-in along with large file storage, enabling only intended users to have a secured experience without compromises. “Satellite gives you peace of mind with end-to-end encryption without sacrificing quality,” the startup said on its website.

Today, Satellite IM announced it has raised $10.5 million in its seed funding round led by Multicoin Venture Fund and Framework Ventures. The round also saw participation from prominent institutional venture investors including Hashed Venture Fund, IDEO CoLab, Solana Ventures, and Pioneer Square Ventures Fund, among others.

Satellite IM is built as an EVM-compatible evolving protocol for simple sovereign storage and peer-to-peer communication, leveraging the interplanetary filesystem (IPFS). The platform allows users to sign, encrypt, broadcast, search, and store documents or messages with decentralized identifiers (DIDs), all while making the need for an existing wallet or on-chain data completely optional.

Satellite IM has architected its platform in a developer-friendly modular framework that enables users to build easily on top of the open-source platform, integrating multiple layer one blockchains.

“Distributed network technology enables a new era in high fidelity audio and video experience,” said Matthew Wisniewski, Co-Founder and CEO of Satellite IM. “In tandem with our world-class investors and partners, we are at the forefront of user-owned, secure communications. Our peer-to-peer infrastructure and open-source network unlock unlimited community development opportunities.”

“Discord is trying to serve too many different types of communities with diverse sets of needs. Satellite is going to serve crypto communities by offering best-in-class crypto-native features, along a credibly-neutral, decentralized back end,” said Kyle Samani, Managing Partner at Multicoin Capital.

“We are excited to see Satellite pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the social crypto space,” said Vance Spencer, Co-Founder of Framework Ventures. “We’ve been waiting for someone to build decentralized discord for a long time, and we think Satellite will be able to do it.”

Satellite IM’s initial early access launch on its core desktop protocol is scheduled for the Summer of 2022, with a mobile native application launching in the Fall of 2022.

Founded this year, Satellite IM is a fully decentralized peer-to-peer voice, video, and text communication platform. Satellite IM enables simple sovereign storage and peer-to-peer communication, leveraging the interplanetary filesystem (IPFS) and dag-jose. Satellite IM’s initial core desktop application, Satellite IM, supports 4K video chat and streaming, lossless audio, and 4GB sharing capabilities, at no cost to the user. Satellite IM’s mobile-native application, Uplink, is scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2022.