Blockchain-powered data storage startup Arweave has raised $5 mln during a funding round, which was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), its press release states.
Instead of relying on centralized entities in the likes of Google and Facebook, Arweave hands the power back to ordinary internet users by creating a network of miners who are able to earn the company's native token for sharing their spare storage.
"Arweave is generally available today and is suitable for use by journalists and publications, scholars and researchers, plus archivists and activists around the world,” Arweave said in its recent statement.
Arweave's main selling point compared to other decentralized storage solutions (FileCoin, Sia, etc.) is the ability to store data in perpetuity, creating the so-called "permaweb." While it looks like another meaningless buzzword, the idea behind this project is quite powerful -- it aims to create the internet where your voice lives forever.
In order to access permaweb and forget about 404 errors, one simply has to download the company's browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Brave. However, here's a catch -- Arweave users are only allowed to store one file for free.
After getting a fresh cash injection from a16z and Texas-based Multicoin Capital, Arweave now wants to beef up its developer relations team and fund marketing campaigns that are slated for the rest of 2019.
Arweave founder Sam Williams told Coindesk about his very ambitious plans. In the future, the company hopes to compete with Amazon and national archives.
Vladislav Sopov