Tweed, a plug and play white-label wallet and payment solution to support any web2 platform tapping into the web3 space, today comes out of stealth to announce it has raised a $4m seed funding round led by Accel.
Communitas Capital Partners and Zero Knowledge Ventures also participated in the round alongside angel investors including Sorare CEO Nicolas Julia, ex-Venmo COO Mike Vaughan, ex-JPMorgan executive Ameet Patel and ex-SunGard CEO Cristóbal Conde.
Web3 has the power to transform payments, combining the potential for new and innovative financial systems with user ownership and interoperability of assets. As blockchain applications are still evolving, web2 companies are dipping their toes in the web3 space with consumer-focused experiences and creative monetization programs. The majority of Fortune 500 executives see a vast opportunity in the web3 space and are currently looking to enter it in some way.
Despite web3’s potential, many web2 companies are struggling to get started on web3 rails. Regulatory oversight, poor UX and developer tooling are preventing businesses from adopting web3 wallets and payment infrastructures, and consumers from venturing deeper into web3 experiences. When adopting certain wallets - many of which aren’t 100% self-custodial - brands face hurdles such as obtaining custody licenses and incorporating lengthy KYC processes, exposing them to regulatory risk. User interfaces and onboarding experiences are also often poorly designed - 92% of brands that are built on or experimenting with web3 elements are experiencing onboarding difficulties.*
Tweed supports brands through every step of the web3 payment flow, providing an end-to-end solution to platforms through its white-label, self-custodial wallet with multi-chain support. Consumers are given a familiar entry point into web3 without the need to create their own wallets or remember complicated recovery phrases, while brands are able to onboard users faster and securely with a fully embedded and customizable wallet.
Tweed’s proprietary, self-custodial wallet offloads the regulatory burden of obtaining a license and enables users to retain ownership of their own assets. With Tweed, brands no longer have to choose between offering consumers a great user experience or true ownership of their digital assets. Tweed’s SDKs are also developer-friendly and easy-to-implement as they integrate into existing sign up/login processes (e.g. social logins), without requiring extra steps for the user. Brands stay in full control of the user interface, and can create experiences and user journeys that best suit their customers. Features on Tweed’s SDK are fully customizable and currently supported on EVM chains as well as Tezos, with several others coming soon.
Tweed was founded in 2022 by CEO Michelle Latzer (ex-Google tech infrastructure), CPO Julie Tauber (ex-Mastercard) and CTO Udi Hakim (ex-Cymotive/IDF), with the team based between New York and Tel Aviv. The investment will be used to further accelerate hiring and improve the platform's offerings.
Michelle Latzer, CEO and co-founder, said: “More businesses are accepting crypto payments and incorporating web3 experiences than ever before. However, this new era of web3 payment infrastructure is still in its infancy. It remains difficult to scale transactions without experiencing massive regulatory, technical and onboarding friction. Starting with a developer-friendly, white-label, true self-custodial wallet, Tweed helps brands scale their web3 offering so that they don’t have to choose between user experience or user ownership, all without added regulatory overhead. From gaming to retail, every sector will be able to bring the familiarity and convenience of web2 onboarding into the world of web3 with Tweed. We’re incredibly excited to partner with Accel to bring our vision to platforms and brands everywhere.”
Andrei Brasoveanu, Partner at Accel, said: “While native web3 experiences are a worthy end-goal, there’s a huge opportunity right now in enabling web2 platforms to embrace crypto. With a long-term vision to build full web3 payment rails for all web2 brands and platforms, Tweed is wholeheartedly embracing this by putting native integrations, security, compliance and convenience at the heart of their self-custodial wallet. We’re extremely impressed by what Michelle, Julie and Udi are building and the early traction that the team has achieved so far and look forward to supporting them on their journey ahead.”