With 5ire and Network Capital, the Indian government launches a blockchain initiative.
5ire is a layer 1 blockchain ecosystem designed with economic and environmental sustainability at its core.
The key public policy think tank for the Indian government, NITI Aayog, has announced the development of a blockchain module in collaboration with the cryptocurrency-focused platform 5ire and Network Capital, a platform for mentorship and career exploration.
The initiative is run by the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITI Aayog, which operates Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in more than 10,000 schools across India. India’s endeavor to “develop and nurture a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship” includes AIM and ATL.
5ire and Network capital to boost Blockchain development
Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, the mission director of AIM, complimented 5ire’s management for “actively working with ATL to do this blockchain module” at an online launch.
The collaboration between the Indian government and 5ire is significant because the startup gained notoriety after raising $100 million in July 2022 to become, in the words of the company, “[the] world’s first blockchain unicorn with sustainability at its core” as it sought to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
The mainnet product of 5ire has not yet been released, thus developments surrounding the company are still interesting. In July 2022, the business announced that it has raised $100M in a Series A capital round from U.K. conglomerate Sram and Mram. However, as of right now, only $20 million of that has been funded, both sides informed CoinDesk on Monday.
Pratik Gauri, CEO & co-founder of 5ire, said: “We have gotten the first tranche of $20 million and are qualified for the second tranche but we do not need the money right now thus we are not collecting the money.” He continued, “We received $10 million on the day of signing and $10 million in November 2022.
Raghav Ram Kapur, Director, Sram and Mram Group, stated that one of the requirements for the funding was that 5ire’s mainnet go online by January 2023 in an email discussion with CoinDesk in July 2022.
When questioned about his statement today, Kapur acknowledged a slip-up, explaining that he meant to say testnet rather than mainnet. Gauri from 5ire affirmed this, saying to CoinDesk, “The launch of the mainnet has never been scheduled. This was a bad choice.”
The testnet took place on November 30, 2022, and the mainnet is anticipated to launch in the third quarter of 2023, according to a blog article published on the 5ire website on January 13, 2023.
