Blockchain-Based 'Internet Computer' Gets $61M from Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain

Blockchain is now being used to build an “Internet computer.”

Top Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital, a cryptocurrency hedge fund, have invested $61 million in Dfinity Foundation, a firm that intends to connect multiple computers together using blockchain to build an “Internet” computer.

The investment is Polychain Capital’s largest to date. Both investors will receive tokens in the network after its launch later this year. (See also: The Rise Of The Crypto Hedge Fund.)

In an introductory video last year, Dfinity Foundation’s founder Dominic Williams explained more about the technology behind his company. “This applies new cryptography to public blockchain technology that is faster and more secure than anything around today,” he said.

When the network was tested last year, it was 600 times faster than the prevailing speeds in ethereum’s network at that time.

The Dfinity network is based on a public blockchain and uses an open source protocol. In an interview with Business Insider, Williams said any computer that chooses to run the protocol can participate in the public network. The open protocol will facilitate the building of different businesses and applications on the network.

For example, Williams said the “Internet computer” can act as a public cloud that competes with the likes of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN
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) and Alphabet Inc. subsidiary Google (GOOG
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). “The total cost of ownership of these business systems will be dramatically lower,” he said.

Part of the reason for this is because it will simplify complicated enterprise IT systems that involve multiple components such as databases and backup systems and cut costs by an estimated 90%. According to Williams, the public computer is also more secure because it is decentralized and spread out across multiple systems. It is underpinned by BLS cryptography invented at Stanford University.

Dominic Williams said he intends to use the funding to establish a Dfinity Ecosystem Fund to “support technical teams building applications, tools, and protocols for deployment on Dfinity.” He is also keen on building a so-called NASA for Decentralisation. "We believe ultimately that if you're going to have millions of businesses hosted on the internet computer, you're going to need a team of thousands of people who are constantly analysing the performance of the computer and looking for security threats," he told Business Insider.