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Republic (fintech)

Topic: Company

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 4 min
Short description: American crowdfunding broker
Republic
TypePrivate
IndustryOnline fundraising, financial services
Founded2016
FounderKendrick Nguyen, Peter Green, Paul Menchov[1][2][3]
Headquarters
New York City
Website{{{1}}}

Republic is an investment platform headquartered in New York City that allows individuals to invest in startups,[4] growth-stage pre-IPO companies, real estate, video games, and crypto companies (despite the crackdown on fraudulent initial coin offerings in 2018).[5]

Overview

Republic was founded by Kendrick Nguyen, Paul Menchov and Peter Green in 2016 as a spin-off from AngelList.[6][7] By July 2021, the company had deployed over $500 million in investments.[8][9]

In November 2020, Republic launched the Republic Cities program in Dallas to fundraise for companies in Dallas from the local community.[10]

In 2021, Everyrealm (at the time, Republic Realm), formerly a metaverse real estate investment channel of Republic, purchased a parcel of virtual land in Decentraland for close to one million US dollars.[11] The lot has turned into a virtual shopping district and houses JPMorgan's lounge.[12]

Republic has its own profit-sharing digital security token, the Republic Note, but has not minted the tokens or made any new developments since launching.[13][14][15]

In October 2021, Republic announced a $150M Series B round led by Valor Equity Partners.[16]

Republic Capital, its venture arm, has invested in companies including Carta, Dapper Labs, Klarna, Kraken, Pipe, and Plaid.

Acquisitions

In June 2019, Republic acquired SheWorx, a company that helps female entrepreneurs raise capital.[17] Lisa Wang – the founder – subsequently left Republic.[18]

In April 2020, Republic acquired Fig, a video game crowdfunding platform.[19][20] The first offering from Fig that was co-hosted by Republic was that of Intellivision Amico. Despite its fundraising success – to the tune of $39 million across multiple campaigns (including one on competitor site StartEngine) – it has faced multiple delays and remained in development until July 2022.[21][22][23]

In June 2020, Republic made an acqui-hire for Compound, a real estate investment platform to create Republic Realm.[24] However, the division later spun off and rebranded as Everyrealm.[25] In October 2022, a sexual harassment and racial discrimination lawsuit was filed against Everyrealm and Republic.[26]

In November 2020, Republic acquired certain assets of NextSeed, a local crowdfunding platform.[27]

In December 2021, Republic entered into an agreement to acquire British equity crowdfunding business Seedrs for $100 million in an effort to expand to Europe.[1][2][28] This acquisition faced pushback from regulatory bodies and the Seedrs investor base, citing preferential treatment given to large shareholders.[29]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Butcher, Mike (December 1, 2021). "Republic acquires the UK's Seedrs in $100M deal to push into Europe". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/01/republic-acquires-the-uks-seedrs-in-100m-deal-to-push-into-europe/. "Kendrick Nguyen, Republic's founder, said: "We knew international expansion was necessary to achieve cross-bordered participation [...]"" 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Thomas, Daniel. "Seedrs bought by US group after merger of UK rivals was blocked". Financial Times. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/d8949f4b-e8c9-4548-9244-123496127611. 
  3. ↑ Megaw, Nicholas (August 16, 2021). "A progress report on fintech's record-breaking year". Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/89ea3d5d-cd29-46ec-88f1-67729b09a7c2. 
  4. ↑ Gallagher, Jacob (May 3, 2021). "Investment Crowdfunding: Is Buying $100 in Equity in Your Favorite Shoe Brand Worth It?". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/investment-crowdfunding-is-buying-100-in-equity-in-your-favorite-shoe-brand-worth-it-11620052376. 
  5. ↑ Geron, Tomio (April 16, 2018). "New Wave of Firms Race to Capitalize on ICO Gold Rush". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-wave-of-firms-race-to-capitalize-on-ico-gold-rush-1523914537. "Despite a potential crackdown on U.S. offerings, many upstart crypto-trading platforms are barreling into uncharted territory" 
  6. ↑ TV Anchors. "How Crypto Will Impact Start-Up Financing" (in en). Cheddar (TV channel). https://cheddar.com/media/how-crypto-will-impact-start-up-financing. 
  7. ↑ Crain, Brian Fabian; Couture, Sébastien. "Episode 353 - Republic – Bridging the Gap Between Investing and Startups" (in en). Epicenter TV. https://epicenter.tv/episodes/353/. 
  8. ↑ JD Alois (July 28, 2021). "Republic Celebrates 5 Year Anniversary, $500 Million in Capital Deployed". Crowdfund Insider. https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2021/07/178451-republic-celebrates-5-year-anniversary-500-million-in-capital-deployed/. 
  9. ↑ Howcroft, Elizabeth. "Virtual real estate plot sells for close to $1 mln". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/technology/virtual-real-estate-plot-sells-close-1-mln-2021-06-18/. 
  10. ↑ Edwards, Alex. "Republic Cities Is Launching Its Investment Platform For Community Capital in Dallas". Dallas Innovates. https://dallasinnovates.com/republic-cities-is-launching-its-investment-platform-for-community-capital-in-dallas/. 
  11. ↑ Howcroft, Elizabeth. "Crypto billionaire Novogratz leads funding for virtual real estate firm". Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/business/exclusive-crypto-billionaire-novogratz-leads-funding-virtual-real-estate-firm-2021-06-30/. 
  12. ↑ Lau, Yvonne. "JPMorgan bets metaverse is a $1 trillion yearly opportunity as it becomes first bank to open in virtual world". Fortune. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2022/02/16/jpmorgan-first-bank-join-metaverse/. "Last June, developer Everyrealm (formerly known as Republic Realm) bought a piece of Decentraland land for $913,000. The land has now been turned into the Metajuku shopping district, where JPMorgan's lounge is located." 
  13. ↑ Leising, Matthew (June 24, 2020). "Crypto Push by Republic Platform Sparked by New Token". Bloomberg. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-24/crypto-push-by-republic-investment-platform-sparked-by-new-token. 
  14. ↑ Roberts, Jeff. "AngelList Spinoff Republic Announces a Token Sale" (in en). Fortune. https://fortune.com/2018/09/15/crowdfunding-site-republic-announces-token-sale/. 
  15. ↑ Geron, Tomio (April 4, 2019). "Crowdfunding Site Republic Creating Token to Give to Users". Wall Street Journal. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/crowdfunding-site-republic-creating-token-to-give-to-users-11554377401. 
  16. ↑ "Republic Closes $150M Series B Funding Round" (in en-US). https://finance.yahoo.com/news/republic-closes-150m-series-b-193226327.html. 
  17. ↑ "SheWorx Gets Acquired By Republic" (in en-US). June 26, 2019. https://gritdaily.com/sheworx-gets-acquired-by-republic/. 
  18. ↑ Kantor, Jessica (September 10, 2022). "How former gymnast Lisa Carmen Wang created a new investment pipeline for female founders". Fast Company. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90793824/how-former-gymnast-lisa-carmen-wang-created-a-new-investment-pipeline-for-female-founders. "She left SheWorx and Republic on strong terms, according to Pialy Aditya, Republic's chief strategy officer, who says that Wang "will always remain a good friend to Republic."" 
  19. ↑ "Republic acquires Fig, adding games to its startup crowdfunding platform" (in en-US). April 17, 2020. https://social.techcrunch.com/2020/04/17/republic-acquires-fig-adding-games-to-its-startup-crowdfunding-platform/. 
  20. ↑ Kaser, Rachel (December 16, 2021). "Republic launches Fig Portfolio Shares for video game investment". VentureBeat. VentureBeat. https://venturebeat.com/games/republic-launches-fig-portfolio-shares-for-video-game-investment/. 
  21. ↑ Good, Owen S. (August 5, 2020). "Intellivision Amico reboot delayed to next year". Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2020/8/5/21356036/intellivision-amico-delayed-launch-date-window-2021. 
  22. ↑ Kim, Matt (July 6, 2022). "Intellivision Amico Console Still in Development, CEO Says". IGN. IGN. https://sea.ign.com/intellivision-amico/187460/news/intellivision-amico-console-still-in-development-ceo-says. 
  23. ↑ Strickland, Derek (February 8, 2022). "Intellivision has raised at least $39 million for the Amico". TweakTown. https://www.tweaktown.com/news/84459/intellivision-has-raised-at-least-39-million-for-the-amico/index.html. 
  24. ↑ "Republic Moves Further Into Real Estate With Acquisition Of Compound Launching Republic Real Estate Vertical" (in en-US). June 15, 2020. https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/06/162789-republic-moves-further-into-real-estate-with-acquisition-of-compound-launching-republic-real-estate-vertical/. 
  25. ↑ Ramaswamy, Anita (February 10, 2022). "Republic's metaverse real estate arm spins off, rebrands as Everyrealm". TechCrunch. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/10/republics-metaverse-real-estate-arm-spins-off-rebrands-as-everyrealm/. 
  26. ↑ Ramaswamy, Anita (October 15, 2022). "Former Everyrealm execs sue company for sexual harassment, race discrimination". TechCrunch. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/14/everyrealm-execs-metaverse-lawsuit-harassment-discrimination-crypto/. "Ex-NFL player Teyo Johnson has filed new allegations against the crypto startup and its CEO" 
  27. ↑ "NextSeed And Republic Discuss Acquisition" (in en-US). December 21, 2020. https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/12/170500-nextseed-and-republic-discuss-acquisition-see-opportunity-in-blockchain-plan-for-global-expansion/. 
  28. ↑ Butcher, Mike (December 1, 2021). "Republic acquires the UK's Seedrs in $100M deal to push into Europe" (in en-US). https://social.techcrunch.com/2021/12/01/republic-acquires-the-uks-seedrs-in-100m-deal-to-push-into-europe/. 
  29. ↑ Hurley, James. "Seedrs sale to Republic a betrayal, say small backers". The Times. The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/seedrs-sale-to-republic-a-betrayal-say-small-backers-2klc9hvjn. 



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