Goldman backs fundraising by payments company Circle

Goldman Sachs is backing the latest fundraising by Circle Internet Financial, a mobile payments start-up built on the bitcoin network.

Boston-based Circle has announced a $50m cash infusion, led by Goldman and China-focused venture capital firm IDG Capital Partners, to help fund its expansion beyond bitcoin and into other currencies.

The company paired announcement of the fundraising with news that it is launching an app that allows users to transfer US dollars, without a fee.

The expansion pitches Circle into the fast-innovating area of mobile payments where pioneers include Venmo and PayM, but with a transfer mechanism that it is building on open source technologies including the bitcoin "blockchain". The blockchain is the public ledger where cryptocurrency transfers are validated and recorded.

Jeremy Allaire, the internet entrepreneur who founded Circle in 2013, and whose previous ventures include the online video platform Brightcove, said the mobile payments industry was a "blank slate" for innovators, reminiscent of the early days of the internet. "We are in the early stages of building the consumer experience in mobile," he said.

Circle's new fundraising, which valued the company at about $200m before the new money, comes on top of $26m of venture capital raised over the past two years. The company is also backed by Jim Breyer's Breyer Capital, Oak Investment Partners, Accel Partners and General Catalyst, all of which put in new money in the latest round.

In a Circle blog post announcing the fundraising, Tom Jessop, managing director at Goldman Sachs, said: "As the financial services industry continues to become more digital and open, we see significant opportunities in companies and solutions that have the promise to transform global markets through technical innovation."

Circle already has a Goldman Sachs connection: Michele Burns, the former chief executive of consultant Mercer, is a director at Goldman and also sits on Circle's board.

Circle launched its first product, a mobile app for storing and transferring bitcoin, last year and says it has attracted customers in the "six figures" in 100 countries.

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