Microsoft Leads $20M Investment in First Decentralized Data Warehouse

M12, Microsoft’s venture capital fund, led a $20 million funding round for Web3 startup Space and Time as the tech giant focuses on decentralizing data.

Space and Time says it’s the first decentralized data warehouse able to transform any central database into a trustless data source connected directly to smart contracts, using its “proof-of-sequel” cryptography. In case you’re not familiar, a smart contract executes a contract on a blockchain network without the involvement of any third party such as a lawyer.

The platform will be integrated with Microsoft Azure, a cloud computing service, and provide users with an on-ramp to its blockchain data.

Decentralizing Data For The DeFi World

Web3 and crypto firms that participated in the funding round included Framework Ventures, HashKey, Foresight Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Polygon, Blizzard the Avalanche Fund, Stratos, Hash Capital, Coin DCX. The new raise comes hot on the heels of a $10 million fund from crypto investment firm Framework Ventures in July. The firm plans to spend more than 90% of the funds on the product and customer adoption of Space and Time, according to a Sept. 27 news release from the company.

‘‘A decentralized data warehouse is an important tool for the financial institutions and decentralized finance (DeFi) world as it helps transactions to be trusted and verified without central controller human intermediaries,’’ Space and Time co-founder and CEO Nate Holiday told Investopedia in an interview.

Overcoming The Limitations of Smart Contracts

Space and Time is a part of a Chainlink Labs program that supports the development of Web3 startups. It works to extend the functionality of smart contracts to let blockchain developers to build multi-chain decentralized applications (dApps). 

Holiday said that decentralized data storage can provide users with better size and scale because smart contracts are limited by their lack of storage and complexity. 

The Bottom Line

Microsoft’s interest in Web3 underscores how eager big tech is to get involved with a push to decentralize the internet. Earlier this year, Google announced the formation of a team focused on Web3 and other blockchain-based applications.

“Big tech firms create unique experiences and capabilities to create new and innovative applications,” Holiday said. “They are setting a level playing field for many talented people who want to create tech businesses.”