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New York, United States / New York, November 21st, 2024, Chainwire

Rise, a leading hybrid payments platform, today announced the successful completion of its Series A funding round, securing $6.3 million in capital, and bringing its total funding to $10m.

The investment, led by Draper Associates and co-led by Polymorphic Capital, with participation from DCG, JAM Fund, Ryze Labs & Paradigm Shift Capital, will enable Rise to accelerate its mission to bring hybrid payment systems for critical business operations to tomorrow’s businesses. 

This latest funding round follows the company’s growth, as demand for hybrid payroll and payment systems continues to rise globally.

“We're thrilled to have the continued support of such an esteemed group of investors. This new capital injection will help us bring new products, built on top of our infrastructure, faster to market and empower businesses, web2 or web3, to supercharge their payments and payroll operations and compliance. Our focus has always been to help businesses and individuals adapt to the future of work, and this capital will drive that mission forward.” - Hugo Finkelstein, Co-founder & CEO of Rise

"We are excited about Rise. It is the platform that all business payroll can run on, web2, web3, fiat, or crypto. Rise is the bridge to a crypto economy and everything in between."- Timothy Draper, Founder of Draper Associates

The First Hybrid Payment & Payroll Engine

At its core, Rise is a hybrid payment infrastructure that blends fiat currencies, stablecoins, and cryptocurrencies. 

By having both a complete domestic & cross border fiat payment infrastructure, controlled by Rise’s proprietary on-chain fleet of smart contracts, Rise is able to securely and efficiently automate the routing between fiat currencies and stablecoins.

Built on this cutting edge infrastructure is Rise’s first product: a Global Contractor Payment system. 

This service enables businesses across the world to pay their international contractors in the currency of their choosing, regardless of the treasury the business holds. 

Today, Rise counts 150+ customers and more than 100,000 contractors. 

Its customer base includes traditional businesses, web3 businesses as well as DAOs, protocols and platforms.

Rise’s comprehensive platform supports businesses looking to onboard, hire and pay global contractors and employees in both local currencies and stablecoins, while ensuring compliance with international tax regulations and employment laws.

“Knowing that we’re providing a solution not only to crypto businesses but also traditional businesses is extremely rewarding as a blockchain company. The market is going in the direction that we’re building, and we’re seeing it firsthand. It is evident Hybrid is the new way to go when it comes to payments and payroll.” - Hugo Finkelstein, Co-founder & CEO of Rise

Making Finance, HR & Compliance More Modular

A key component to Rise’s on-chain infrastructure is the RiseID, a unique smart contract minted by each user and organization following onboarding and completion of KYC.

Each user owns a RiseID, and can add attributes to it and hold attributes with it. They can then share these attributes with third parties. 

While enabling users to authenticate themselves and interact with Rise’s smart contracts, the RiseID holds potential in becoming a Digital Professional ID. 

“The RiseID is the connecting tissue of an ever more modular HR, Finance and Compliance ecosystem. It holds incredible potential. Within Rise, we use it today for security, but its attributes capability has a lot of potential. We’re just now exploring other practical use cases with partners.” - Hugo Finkelstein, Co-founder & CEO of Rise

To date, more than 100,000 RiseIDs have been minted.

Global HR & FinTech Compliance

Rise's cutting-edge platform enables companies of all kinds to navigate the complexities of international payments with ease. 

Offering a seamless experience for managing both fiat and stablecoin payments, it ensures that compliance with local regulations is never compromised. 

The company provides robust Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) verification, as well as Professional Service Agreements, reducing risk for employers hiring contractors globally.

In anticipation of future products, the company is actively acquiring Money Transmitter Licenses in the US and equivalent in other regions of the world.

Team & Product Expansion

Rise will use this fresh funding to expand its team across all functions, bring new products to market and grow its global compliance & licensing infrastructure. 

“As the world of work is becoming more global everyday, Rise is poised to be at the forefront of the global revolution with our payment, payroll and compliance infrastructure.” - added Hugo Finkelstein, Co-Founder and CEO.

About Rise

Launched in 2022, Rise is a global payroll and compliance company that offers global payroll services for businesses operating across borders. 

From paying contractors and employees in local currency to enabling crypto payroll, Rise helps companies stay compliant and agile in today’s evolving digital economy. 

The platform is trusted by businesses worldwide to simplify their payroll and ensure compliance with tax and regulatory obligations.

For more information about Rise and its services, users can visit Riseworks.io.

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