Blockchain Startup Closes Multi-Million Dollar Funding Round Led by SoftBank, Baidu

Blockchain marketing platform Atlas Protocol (ATP) has concluded a seed investment round of several million dollars led by SoftBank China Venture Capital (SBCVC), according to an August 20 press release.

The multi-million dollar investment round, whose final amount was not disclosed, also included participation by Baidu Ventures (BV), Danhua Capital, and Fenbushi Digital.

Atlas Protocol was formed by Nebulas Labs and the xGoogler Blockchain Alliance (xGBA), with co-founder of Jide Technology and the “first engineer” of Google Adwords Jeremy Zhao, as well as Professor Ronghui Gu of Columbia University, acting as technical advisors for Atlas Protocol, according to the press release.

ATP plans to develop a blockchain ecosystem and “construct a new paradigm of interactive marketing.” The press release states that ATP allows for the ranking of “onchain targets' value and enabl[ing] value circulation through tokens,” with the use of the ATP Smartdrop service application.

The xGoogler Blockchain Alliance was formed in April of this year to to create a community for all ex-Google employees interested in blockchain.

In June, Chinese Internet giant Baidu had announced it was developing its own blockchain protocol aimed at reducing mining energy consumption.