Alchemy Insights Inc., a platform that empowers developers to build web3 apps, said today it has raised $200 million in a new funding round that values the company at $10.2 billion.

Web3 refers to what is known as the decentralized web, which is built on blockchain technology that underlies popular cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum. Alchemy says its position is providing a platform that would do for blockchain and web3 what Amazon Web Services does for the web.

The new investment was led by Lightspeed and Silver Lake and is an extension of the previous Series C closed by Alchemy in October for $250 million that valued the company at $3.5 billion. All previous major investors participated in this round, including a61z, Coatue, Addition, Pantera and DFJ.

Since October, Alchemy reported that it has seen a threefold increase in developer teams building on its platform. The company has also seen $105 billion in annualized on-chain transaction value across its infrastructure, up from $45 billion before the previous fundraise.

The company’s massive growth follows the trendline for web3 apps during 2021 for such use cases as decentralized finance and nonfungible tokens. NFTs are a type of blockchain-based asset that can represent intangible items such as digital artwork, video game items and concert tickets that can be owned and traded. Over the year, the market for such items grew to $41 billion according to the newest metric, compared with just $100 million during 2020.

Alchemy powers several NFT marketplaces, including OpenSea, SuperRare, Rarible and MakersPlace, where users can mint, buy, sell and trade NFTs. These marketplaces have delivered more than $1.5 billion in royalties to artists and more than $1 billion of that amount came in the past three months.

“2021 was the year developers took web3 mainstream and created businesses that are transforming the lives of millions,” said Nikil Viswanathan (pictured, right), co-founder and chief executive of Alchemy. “In 2022, we’ll be doubling down on our commitment to supporting developers globally, making it easier than ever to unlock the potential of web3.”

Since October, Alchemy has continued to grow its platform and ecosystem by launching a number of new projects and initiatives. They included the launch of an open educational resource called Web3 University for anyone seeking to build web3 development skills, Alchemy Ventures, a venture capital arm looking to accelerate web3 adoption through startup funding.

The company also introduced a generous free tier for its platform to make web3 development more accessible and launched a new NFT application interface to make it easier for developers to build apps.

“We believe web3 should be accessible to everyone, and the best way to make that happen is by supporting incredibly creative developers who are bringing their ideas to life through blockchain technology,” said Joe Lau (left), Alchemy’s co-founder and chief technology officer.

Photo: Alchemy