DeFi platform Exponential raises $14 million in seed round

• Exponential is looking to change investing in the decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem with the “right products” for customers.

Exponential, an investment platform that seeks to simplify investing in decentralised finance (DeFi), has announced it raised $14 million during its seed funding round from investors.

Paradigm, a crypto-focused venture capital firm that has invested in numerous digital assets and Web3 startups, led the financing round, according to co-founders Driss Benamour (CEO), Mehdi Lebbar (President) and Greg Jizmagian (CTO).

Other investors that participated in the funding round included FTX Ventures, Haun Ventures, Solana Ventures, Polygon, Circle Ventures, and Global Founders Capital among others.

The round also attracted over 80 angel investors, including Henrique Dubugras (founder of US-based fintech firm Brex), Zach Perret (CEO of Plaid/Mischief) and entrepreneur and investor Anthony Pompliano.

We’re excited to announce that Exponential has raised a $14M seed round, led by @Paradigm, and is now available to the public. Exponential is a new investment platform that makes it easy to discover, assess, and invest in DeFi yield opportunities https://t.co/lBc12j7EkS

— Exponential DeFi (@ExponentialDeFi) October 3, 2022

Exponential’s DeFi goal

Exponential‘s goal for the DeFi community is clear: offer an investment platform that makes it easy for investors to discover new yield opportunities and easily invest in transparent projects.

“This is just the beginning. Exponential has a vision of unlocking financial freedom for everyone by bridging the gap between web2 and web3, and the minds to build it.” Benamour, Lebbar and Jizmagian noted in a blog post.

To help bring this to fruition, the platform has assembled a top notch team comprising talent from Uber and Amazon. In all, the team counts some of the best employees across engineering, cryptocurrency, fintech, and consumer products within its ranks.

According to the Exponential co-founders, investing in DeFi shouldn’t be as daunting as it often proves. It shouldn’t also be too risky for investors as has been seen over the past two years, with hackers stealing billions worth of dollars of crypto assets from DeFi protocols.

“With the right products, DeFi will become more approachable, opening the door to a new wave of investors,” Benamour, Lebbar and Jizmagian wrote.

Rate My Wallet, an institutional-grade risk assessment system the platform has developed helps analyse a user’s investments, mapping potential across the protocol, assets and chain underpinning the ecosystem.

The platform is also set to make it possible for customers to have direct access to DeFi liquidity pools via its custodial platform, adding to ease of use and also security.