5ire Co-Founder Departs Amid Internal Dispute, Crypto Unicorn Valued at $1.5B

• 5ire, an Indian blockchain layer 1 network, is bidding farewell to one of its co-founders Vilma Mattila due to internal disputes.
• Last year, the company secured a $100 million Series A funding which valued it at $1.5 billion and made it India’s 105th unicorn.
• 5ire has partnered with NITI Aayog, a Government of India’s apex public policy think tank and launched its Testnet in August 2022.

Co-founder Departs Amid Internal Dispute

Vilma Mattila, one of the co-founders of 5ire alongside CEO Pratik Gauri and CTO Prateek Dwivedi, is stepping down from the company citing internal disputes. She noted that other co-founders were “making management and financial decisions without her consent”.

Series A Funding Valuing Company at $1.5 Billion

Last year, 5ire secured series A funding valuing the company at $1.5 billion from U.K.-based conglomerate Sram and Mram making it India’s 105th unicorn. The company seeks to shift the paradigm from ‘for-profit’ to ‘for-benefit’ economy by using Proof-of-Benefit technology to reward sustainable behavior and empower decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO).

Partnership with NITI Aayog

In January this year, NITI Aayog launched a blockchain module in partnership with 5ire and a mentorship platform Network Capital as part of India’s initiative to “create and promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship”.

Mainnet yet To Go Live

Though 5ire raised $100 million last year in Series A funding but only received $20 million so far as confirmed by Gauri in January this year. The Mainnet has not been launched yet and is expected to go live in the next few quarters while the Testnet was launched in August 2022.

Conclusion

Amid internal disputes between its co-founders, Indian Crypto Unicorn 5ire bids farewell to one of its co-founders Vilma Mattila who had accused other founders for making decisions without her consent.. Last year, the company raised $100 million valuing it at $1.5 billion and became India’s 105th unicorn while partnering with NITI Aayog for launching a blockchain module this year as part of creating an innovation culture among entrepreneurs . Its Mainnet has not been launched yet but Testnet was released in August 2022 although only receiving 20% out of total funds raised so far