Crowdfunding Firm Funded by Spencer Trask & Co. Acquired by Circle

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Oct 11, 2018, 14:04 ET

GREENWICH, Conn., Oct. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SeedInvest, the equity crowdfunding firm funded by Spencer Trask & Co., was acquired by global peer-to-peer payments technology company Circle Internet Financial Ltd. (Circle). Spencer Trask affiliates were major investors in the Series A round for SeedInvest.

"The SeedInvest team has done a great job in expanding its business of helping new ventures grow," said Kevin Kimberlin, Chairman of Spencer Trask & Co.

Headquartered in New York City, SeedInvest screens and vets young ventures for a large group of investors. Its network of more than 240,000 investors have funded of more than 220 new ventures. The firm was ranked as the fourth fastest-growing financial services company by Inc. Magazine for its 2018 Inc. 500 list.

Boston-based Circle operates a global social payment and next-generation blockchain platform that facilitates billions in trades with an automated order and settlement process. Valued at $2.8 billion, Circle is owned by Goldman Sachs, Bitmain (bit mining leader backed by Sequoia) and Baidu (China's primary search engine and one of the largest AI companies in the world) and others.

"With Circle's reach and relationships, SeedInvest can extend its capabilities to the development private security markets using tokens, virtual currencies and blockchain technology," Kimberlin stated. "As a new stakeholder in Circle, we look forward to benefiting from this powerful global alliance."

About SeedInvest

SeedInvest is a leading equity crowdfunding platform, opening up access to venture capital and angel investing to everyone.

About Circle

Circle is a global crypto finance company on a mission to make it possible for anyone, anywhere to help change the global economy. Circle believes money should be like the internet — open, secure, free, everywhere.

About Spencer Trask & Co

Spencer Trask & Co. is a privately held advanced technology development firm, helping entrepreneurs, CEOs and corporate partners start and grow high impact ventures. The firm has been instrumental in launching pioneers in artificial intelligence, genomics, healthcare technology, mobile technology, the Internet and open innovation. Please visit www.spencertraskco.com for more information.

SOURCE Spencer Trask & Co.