The Open Platform Raises $28.5 Million, Becomes Telegram’s First Unicorn

The Open Platform, a leading tech company developing Web3 innovations in Telegram, has successfully completed its Series A and subsequent extension funding rounds, achieving a $1 billion valuation. This milestone makes The Open Platform the first unicorn in the TON-based ecosystem within Telegram. The Series A funding round raised $28.5 million, led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from Pantera Capital. This brings the total funding secured by The Open Platform to over $70 million, including previous seed investments. The investment underscores the confidence of leading investors in The Open Platform’s ability to drive the growth of the blockchain ecosystem in Telegram, which is built on TON Blockchain, a fully decentralized and highly scalable blockchain that is the exclusive blockchain partner of Telegram Messenger.

The strategic focus of The Open Platform is now on geographical expansion. The involvement of prominent investors and the newly raised capital will support the launch of TOP’s portfolio companies across the U.S., EU, and other key regions. This expansion will involve significant investment in go-to-market strategies, regulatory licensing, compliance infrastructure, and security enhancements, all aimed at ensuring sustainable growth and long-term success in these new jurisdictions. Andrew Rogozov, CEO and Founder of The Open Platform, emphasized that this investment supports their long-term strategy to scale the adoption of blockchain-based products by leveraging the power of Telegram as a distribution channel. By combining TON Blockchain with Telegram’s global reach, The Open Platform is building both the infrastructure and the consumer-facing apps needed to onboard a billion users to crypto.

The Open Platform is driving the growth of the TON-based ecosystem within Telegram, developing both core infrastructure and consumer-facing apps across finance, gaming, and entertainment. Some of the products powered by The Open Platform include Wallet in Telegram, a digital asset solution seamlessly embedded into Telegram’s interface; Tonkeeper, TON’s leading non-custodial crypto wallet; STON.fi, the leading swap dApp on TON and the developer of a liquidity aggregation protocol, Omniston; Getgems, TON’s foremost NFT marketplace; Tribute, a monetization platform for creators in Telegram; and Notcoin, a viral Tap-to-Earn game, among many others. By integrating blockchain technology into everyday digital experiences, The Open Platform is creating a seamless, scalable platform designed for a billion users, accelerating the mainstream adoption of crypto, expanding global access to financial services, and enabling a new generation of builders and developers to build the next wave of consumer dApps.

This latest investment from Ribbit Capital and Pantera Capital is a testament to the potential these investors see in the integration of blockchain technology into a messenger application with over a billion users. Micky Malka, Founder of Ribbit Capital, stated that they back teams that reimagine how the world experiences money and technology. The Open Platform’s vision of building an intuitive and open platform that enables a robust digital ecosystem to form within Telegram opens a new frontier of opportunities for builders and users on a global scale. Ryan Barney, Partner at Pantera Capital, expressed excitement about supporting groundbreaking tech and financial products that reach 1 billion people and collaborating with the TOP team to strengthen their commitment to TON and Telegram’s ecosystems.

TON Blockchain has been the subject of increased institutional interest throughout this year. In March, TON Foundation announced that several leading investors, including Sequoia Capital, Ribbit Capital, Benchmark, Draper Associates, Kingsway, Vy Capital, Libertus Capital, CoinFund, SkyBridge, Hypersphere, and Karatage, have acquired and now hold $400 million worth of Toncoin, signaling growing interest in the TON-based ecosystem in Telegram. The Open Platform is the leading tech company developing Web3 innovations in Telegram. TOP is fueling the Telegram economy through both foundational infrastructure and consumer-facing apps. By integrating blockchain technology into day-to-day digital experiences, TOP is building a seamless, scalable platform designed for a billion users, accelerating the mass adoption of crypto.