Orchid Labs raises $48M to end internet surveillance

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Orchid Labs, a blockchain-related startup, is intent on keeping the Internet open source and accessible. Orchid Labs has updated fans and supporters with its new developments in a recent blog post.

The company has had quite a successful year, as it has raised $43 million from accredited investors since 2019 started. An accredited investor is an individual or organization that does not need to register with financial authorities in order to invest in securities. This new money brings the total Orchid Labs funding amount to $48 million, which Orchid Labs claims will be dedicated to keeping the Internet “open and accessible.” Orchid Labs hopes to raise a total of somewhere around $125 million, according to filings with the Securities Exchange Commission.

The company is also focused on “probabilistic micropayments” to encourage a decentralized marketplace. Orchid Labs has repeatedly referenced micropayments in its whitepaper as well as other blog posts. The company has announced that there now exists an Ethereum smart contract implementation of their micropayments, and plan on “integrating these into our client and nodes for Beta.”

Orchid Labs also has launched the Orchid app, which is an open-source Virtual Private Network (VPN) client that sends packets to nodes over multiple hops to ensure that its users can browse the Internet securely and privately. The app’s creators believe that the Orchid app might gain significant traction because it is reasonably priced with respect to VPN competitors.

This fits in with the company’s overall vision of a free and open Internet. There have been reports that cryptocurrency investors and traders have turned to VPNs to trade and invest in the markets ever since China cracked down on the space.

The blog post also referenced the fact that a newly-designed website for the company is coming soon, and that Orchid Labs’ Beta was “upcoming.” No date or timetable was provided for its release.