Web3 Payments Infrastructure Firm Fetcch Bags Capital From AppWorks Venture, Others

Web3 payments infrastructure platform Fetcch has raised $1.5 Mn (around INR 12 Cr) in a pre-seed funding round co-led by AppWorks Venture and Hashkey Capital.

The round also saw participation from LD Capital, Compute Ventures, M6 and GravityX Capital, NGC.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital for product development and expansion in the Web3 sector, while simultaneously building Web2.5 use cases.
 
Founded by Mandar Dange and Satyam Kulkarni in 2023, Fetcch provides digital payments and rewards platforms, especially for the Web3 payments ecosystem with a particular focus on cross-chain payments.

It claims to have integrated with more than 23 wallets clocking daily transaction volumes reaching $35,000 through the platform. 

“Envisioning a future where Web2 tech businesses will use blockchain at the backend, this funding will enable us to expand our engineering and research team to accelerate the development of cutting-edge payment solutions that empower individuals and businesses to engage in seamless and secure transactions on the blockchain,” said Mandar Dange, cofounder and chief executive of Fetcch.

Cross-chain transactions in the Web3 space have been prone to significant security vulnerabilities, leading to substantial financial losses. 

In 2022, cross-chain bridge security incidents caused a staggering total loss of around $1.89 Bn. Fetcch intends to address this problem through a seamless infrastructure for the Web3 payments ecosystem with a particular focus on cross-chain payments. 

Web3 generally means the next generation of the worldwide web. It is derived largely on blockchain technologies, which use a distributed network of servers and devices across which any data or service is hosted.

For the past few years, India’s startup ecosystem has been at the forefront of adopting various emerging technologies in driving the country’s economic growth, innovation and social development. One such technology is Web3, or Web3.0, which is influential in shaping up the digital landscape. 

According to a report by management consulting firm Primus Partners, Web3 sector has the potential to generate around 2.2 Mn jobs in India over the next 10 years.

The report underscores India’s position with over 900 enterprises in the Web3 domain, constituting 11% of the global Web3 developer community in 2022. It predicts that the sector will contribute a substantial $1.1 Tn to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) over the next decade, by 2032.