The company, which is building artificial intelligence to fight criminal networks and national security threats, will use the capital to expand its team, create solutions that help institutions manage financial crime risk, and advance capabilities to identify and disrupt illicit activity, the release said.
“AI is one of the most important technologies of our generation, and where it’s applied matters,” TRM Labs co-founder and CEO Esteban Castaño said in the release. “At TRM, we’re building AI for problems that have real consequences for public safety, financial integrity and national security. This funding allows our world-class team, and the people who will join us next, to innovate alongside institutions on the front lines of the most consequential threats, and expand the potential of AI to meaningfully improve how our critical systems are protected.”
The round was led by Blockchain Capital and included participation from financial institutions and venture firms such as Goldman Sachs, Citi Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Thoma Bravo and Brevan Howard, according to the release.
The company’s rise to unicorn status comes amid a period of increasing complexity in digital assets, CoinDesk reported Wednesday. TRM Labs specializes in software that traces cryptocurrency transactions across multiple blockchains, a capability that has seen heightened demand as law enforcement agencies and financial firms grapple with a surge in crypto-related crime.
Unlike early competitors that focused primarily on bitcoin, TRM tracked a variety of cryptocurrencies from its inception. This multichain approach has become a competitive advantage as criminal networks increasingly diversify their use of tokens and platforms to evade detection, per the report.
TRM Labs serves a client base that includes major financial institutions and key government agencies, such as the FBI and the IRS, the report said. To support these clients, the firm has assembled a global investigations team composed of former federal agents, including veterans who were instrumental in dismantling dark web marketplaces.
In addition to its work with government entities, TRM has established partnerships with major blockchain projects like Tron and Tether, according to the report. These collaborations led to the formation of the T3 Financial Crime Unit, a specialized task force that has frozen more than $300 million in tainted assets associated with illicit activities.
Other fundraising initiatives from TRM Labs include a $4.2 million investment from PayPal Ventures in 2019, a $14 million funding round in 2021, and an investment from JPMorgan Chase in 2022.