Softbank, Baidu Lead $3 Million Funding for Ex-Googler's Crypto Startup

Called Atlas Protocol, the startup believes that the data accumulating on blockchains today can be used to better market to internet users tomorrow, an idea that has already received validation from some of the biggest names in Asian business.

Revealed exclusively to CoinDesk, Softbank China Venture Capital has completed a $3 million equity seed round in Atlas.

Atlas is positioning itself to come out ahead of Google if more of the web begins directly interacting with public blockchains.

With the attention paid to Facebook's Cambridge Analyitica scandal and credit rating agency Equifax's data breach before it, users might be understandably wary about personal data being stored immutably on a blockchain.

"Being implemented on the blockchain, Atlas Protocol will be fully transparent for users, in contrast to the 'data blackhole' setup that characterizes the current industry landscape dominated by digital giants."

The basic model for Atlas Protocol is to allow users to collect data about transactions and interactions with the blockchain, and then allow marketers to incentivize sharing that information by using a token that can permit value exchange between marketers, users, publishers and others in the online ecosystem.

Also notable is that Atlas was incubated by Nebulas, a smaller blockchain protocol that wants to make crypto data more discoverable and useable.

To make sure they had users, Liu explained that Atlas Protocol's "SmartDrop system" was used to reward the most active Nebulas users during the incentive program with free tokens as well.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.

CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.