Thirdweb, a platform that provides developers with tools to build Web3 apps, raised $24 million in fresh funding at a $160 million valuation led by Haun Ventures, which was founded by former Andreessen Horowitz partner Katie Haun.

The Series A round, announced today, also included Coinbase Ventures, Shopify, Polygon, Protocol Labs, Shrug VC and billionaire Joseph Lacob, among others.

Thirdweb provides developers everything they need to craft, manage and build open-source and decentralized Web3 apps. This includes pre-built smart contracts and templates for constructing anything that developers will need for decentralized blockchain coding, such as nonfungible token drops, decentralized exchanges, games and marketplaces. Other tools include software development kits and dashboards to manage on-chain contracts.

The company was founded by Bebo founder Furqan Rydhan, now chief executive of Thirdweb, and entrepreneur Steven Bartlett of Dragon’s Den UK. Dragon’s Den is a reality television show where eager entrepreneurs pitch startup ideas to a panel of investors and either receive funding or get dismissed.

Web3 is the term used by computer scientists and proponents of decentralized blockchain-based technology to refer to the next iteration of the web that allows for the creation of token economies and self-executing smart contracts. Using Web3 apps, developers can create decentralized versions of traditional finance and eschew middlemen such as banks and brokers.

According to Rydhan, many developers seeking to enter into Web3 development find themselves facing a multitude of issues including the possibility of bugs or exploits in their apps that could lead to catastrophic problems. By offering a solution with vetted, pre-built smart contracts and tools that deliver monitoring and management of those contracts, Thirdweb makes it easier to build those apps without fear.

“I’ve built internet companies in Web1 and Web2 and I’m seeing the same patterns in Web3, which suggest this is going to transform the internet as we know it,” said Rydhan. “Thirdweb is building the infrastructure layer for Web3, giving builders the tools to unlock the power of blockchain technology and accelerating them as they build the next world-changing companies.”

Since its launch, Thirdweb has helped deploy over 200,000 smart contracts across multiple blockchains and over 55,000 unique wallets. The company also says that its tools have supported many Web3 efforts including NFT drops, decentralized autonomous organizations, blockchain games and token gated memberships.

The company is also working with traditional brands such as New York Fashion Week and Afterpay to build Web3 services into their offerings such as NFT-gated membership clubs and tickets and virtual metaverse worlds with an aim to increase consumer engagement.

Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, are a type of blockchain-based asset that represent the ownership of virtual items such as artwork, music, videos, memorabilia and gaming items. They can also be bought, sold and traded, and they hold a real-world dollar value.

Holding an NFT can also be used to “unlock” premium content. This means NFTs could be used by merchants to provide discounts to loyal customers or unlock gated portions of the store. Concert and event venues could use NFTs as tickets to open lounges and provide special access to VIP areas. A bar could have a drink only available to the holders of a specific NFT.

These are only a few potential use cases for only one set of Web3 capabilities: nonfungible tokens. Smart contracts have also given rise to e-commerce shops, payment processors, banking, loans, cryptocurrency exchanges, decentralized games and more.

“Web3 is the most important technological shift I’ve witnessed in my lifetime,” said Bartlett. “We built Thirdweb to give the builders that are creating this next iteration of the internet the tools they need to be successful, and when they are successful, the world as we know it will be remarkably different — remarkably better.”

Thirdweb earlier raised $5 million in seed funding in December from more than 20 industry investors, including angel investor Gary Vaynerchuk and billionaire Mark Cuban.

Active contracts on the platform, those that received activity in the past 24 hours, that were built using its tools have doubled since May, and more than $1.5 million was generated by Thirdweb developers in the last 30 days.

Today also marks the beginning of Thirdweb’s partnership with Shopify. The company will be assisting with adding Web3 capabilities to the e-commerce platform’s tech stack to involve its customers.

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