Blockchain Unicorn 5ire Buys Stake In Career Advancement Platform Network Capital

Blockchain unicorn 5ire on Tuesday (September 13) said it has acquired a stake in mentorship and career advancement platform Network Capital (NC). Post the acquisition, NC will be rebranded as ‘NC powered by 5ire’.

However, it didn’t disclose the amount of stake bought and the financial details of the deal.

NC is a subscription based career content community platform with over 1 Lakh experts which helps users build their careers through peer mentoring and coaching. According to its website, NC counts former Pepsico chairperson and CEO Indra Nooyi, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Sheroes founder and CEO Sairee Chahal, and economist Sanjeev Sanyal among its faculty members.

NC has local chapters in every major city across the world and also serves as a partner to the Indian government’s Atal Innovation Mission, enabling mentorship for almost 1.6 Mn students, 5ire said in a statement. 

Acquiring NC gives 5ire access to human capital, the blockchain startup said, adding that it will help 5ire build a talent pipeline and give access to the best brains around the world.

NC was started by Utkarsh Amitabh who has been named as the chief marketing officer of 5ire. In addition, he will continue to be the CEO of NC powered by 5ire. He will report to the 5ire CEO’s office. 

5ire’s current chief marketing officer and cofounder Prateek Dwivedi will now take on the role of cofounder and chief product officer at 5ire. 

“In Utkarsh, we saw someone who reflected our core values. We found a partner who sees infinite possibilities and opportunities in growth and innovation, and it clicked,” 5ire CEO and cofounder Pratik Gauri said.

Indian-origin entrepreneurs, Gauri and Prateek Dwivedi, along with web3 financier Vilma Mattila, founded 5th generation Layer-1 (L1) blockchain network 5ire in August 2021. Within two months, the startup raised $21 Mn in seed funding.

In July this year, it raised $100 Mn in Series A funding from UK-based conglomerate SRAM & MRAM at a valuation of $1.5 Bn, becoming the 105th unicorn of India. 

5ire has its own blockchain called 5irechain. It is based on sustainability and works on a proof-of-benefit methodology for consensus. 

The global blockchain market was valued at $4.9 Bn in 2021, according to a report by marketsandmarkets.com. The market is projected to reach $67.4 Bn by 2026, at a compound annual growth rate of 68.4% during the forecast period.

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