Elevation Capital Leads $3 Mn Round In DeFi Startup Pillow

Elevation Capital Leads $3 Mn Round In DeFi Startup Pillow

SUMMARY

Founded in 2021, Pillow helps crypto owners generate yields on their idle assets, as high as 18% by investing in curated and actively managed DeFi strategies

The blockchain startup plans to use the funds to build alpha-generating DeFi strategies for popular crypto-assets

Post its beta launch in December 2021, Pillow has scaled to more than $1 Mn in AUM

Singapore and Bengaluru-based Pillow, a Decentralised Finance (DeFi) startup, has raised $3 Mn in a seed round led by Elevation Capital. The round also saw the participation of prominent crypto angels such as DeFI Pulse’s Scott Lewis, Polygon’s JD Kanani and Sandeep Nailwal FalconX’s Prabhakar Reddy and Biconomy’s Aniket Jindal, among others.

The blockchain startup plans to use the funds to build alpha-generating DeFi strategies for popular crypto-assets (including $BTC, $ETH and stablecoins) and accelerate global expansion.

Founded in 2021 by Arindam Roy, Rajath KM, and Kartik Mishra, Pillow helps crypto owners generate yields on their idle assets. It is a community for users worldwide who want to earn interest on their crypto, instead of letting them lie idle — i.e. simply put it acts as a savings bank account for crypto owners.

The process is simple — users need to login into their crypto exchange platform (for instance WazirX), and instead of withdrawing their assets converted in fiat currency, they need to enter the wallet code of their Pillow account.

Pillow’s platform helps generate downside-protected interest as high as 18%, on crypto-assets by investing in curated and actively managed DeFi strategies. For users, it takes away the complexity of DeFi, as users can invest and earn high yields without worrying about gas (transaction) fees, underlying chains and tokens, etc. They only need to connect their crypto wallet to the DeFi platform.

Within three weeks of its beta launch in December 2021, Pillow has scaled to more than $1 Mn in AUM (Assets Under Management) on the back of its stable coin strategy — which provides a 17.8% yield. Pillow keeps a small percentage of the spread generated, a small percentage also goes into Pillow’s yield reserves, and the vast majority of the returns are passed on to the user.

To ensure customers’ crypto-assets are secure, Pillow uses custodial service BigGo, for custody management and leverages Gnosis Safe for multi-sig capabilities. This way, the startup also insures funds of up to $100 Mn on any problems arising because of custody.

The DeFi Definition & The Blockchain Opportunity

DeFi or Decentralised Finance is essentially a blockchain-based form of finance without the involvement of central financial intermediaries, such as banks, brokerages or exchanges — an open setting. A DeFi Hub allows users to view and manage decentralised assets across major blockchain networks. It uses smart contracts to record transactions and transfer funds without duplicating them.

According to the DeFi startup Pillow, while DeFi is in a nascent stage, it is fast growing. The Total Value Locked (TVL) has grown to $250 Bn in January 2022, up by 12.5X from $20 Bn in January 2021.

Indians are now fast moving towards DeFi platforms. In fact, the majority of crypto transactions are now occurring on DeFi platforms, says the 2021 Geography of Cryptocurrency Report by blockchain data firm Chainalysis.

Besides the Global Crypto Adoption Index where India ranks two, Chainalysis has also introduced the Global DeFi Adoption Index. India has been ranked sixth in this index, closely behind China and the UK.

You have reached your limit of free stories
Become An Inc42 Plus Member

Become a Startup Insider in 2024 with Inc42 Plus. Join our exclusive community of 10,000+ founders, investors & operators and stay ahead in India’s startup & business economy.

2 YEAR PLAN
₹19999
₹7999
₹333/Month
Unlock 60% OFF
Cancel Anytime
1 YEAR PLAN
₹9999
₹4999
₹416/Month
Unlock 50% OFF
Cancel Anytime
Already A Member?
Discover Startups & Business Models

Unleash your potential by exploring unlimited articles, trackers, and playbooks. Identify the hottest startup deals, supercharge your innovation projects, and stay updated with expert curation.

Elevation Capital Leads $3 Mn Round In DeFi Startup Pillow-Inc42 Media
How-To’s on Starting & Scaling Up

Empower yourself with comprehensive playbooks, expert analysis, and invaluable insights. Learn to validate ideas, acquire customers, secure funding, and navigate the journey to startup success.

Elevation Capital Leads $3 Mn Round In DeFi Startup Pillow-Inc42 Media
Identify Trends & New Markets

Access 75+ in-depth reports on frontier industries. Gain exclusive market intelligence, understand market landscapes, and decode emerging trends to make informed decisions.

Elevation Capital Leads $3 Mn Round In DeFi Startup Pillow-Inc42 Media
Track & Decode the Investment Landscape

Stay ahead with startup and funding trackers. Analyse investment strategies, profile successful investors, and keep track of upcoming funds, accelerators, and more.

Elevation Capital Leads $3 Mn Round In DeFi Startup Pillow-Inc42 Media
Elevation Capital Leads $3 Mn Round In DeFi Startup Pillow-Inc42 Media
You’re in Good company