Fundraising Fox

Merkle Manufactory, Inc.

Venice, US · Founded 2021 · Delaware corporation · 18 known investors

Farcaster is a decentralized social network where users own their identity and can discover people and express themselves. It functions as a social media platform built on decentralized principles.

Also known as Farcaster

Crypto & Web3Social

Founders & leadership

Merkle Manufactory, Inc. was founded in 2021 by Daniel Romero and Varun Srinivasan.

DR
Daniel RomeroCo-founder
VS
Varun SrinivasanCo-founder

Investors · 18

1confirmationIncline Village
A.Capital VenturesSan Francisco
a16z cryptoMenlo Park
Andreessen HorowitzMenlo Park · $500K – $50M
ArchetypeNew York · $100K – $10M
Chapter OneLos Angeles · $5K – $200K
Coinbase VenturesStamford · $100K – $10M
Haun VenturesSilicon Valley · $1M – $100M
HaystackSan Francisco · $1M – $3M
Liam Hornevia Liam Horne · inferred
MischiefSan Francisco · $1M – $5M
Multicoin CapitalAustin · $1M – $50M
ParadigmSan Francisco · $1M – $100M
Standard Crypto
Todd and Rahul’s Angel FundSan Francisco · $300K – $500K
Union Square Ventures (USV)New York City · $1M – $8M
Variant FundreportedNew York · $250K – $750K
VOLT CAPITALreportedNew York · $100K – $1M

Reported raises · per SEC filings

Form D private placements

$168.1M disclosed across 2 rounds · 2022–2024

▶$139.5MraisedMay 2024 · 10 investors · Computers
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Daniel RomeroExecutive Officer, Director
  • Matt HuangDirector
  • Varun SrinivasanExecutive Officer, Director
  • Sriram KrishnanDirector
Offering amount
$150M
Amount sold
$139.5M
First sale
Apr 2024
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware, 2021
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗
▶$28.6MraisedJul 2022 · 28 investors · Computers
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Daniel RomeroExecutive Officer, Director
  • Varun SrinivasanExecutive Officer, Director
Offering amount
$30M
Amount sold
$28.6M
First sale
Jun 2022
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware, 2021
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Merkle Manufactory, Inc. operates Farcaster (farcaster.xyz), a decentralized social network positioned as a place to find new people and express oneself through software, with users owning their identity on the network. The product is offered through a web application with email and phone login options and a downloadable mobile app.

Publicly available material on the company is thin. A PrivCo company profile lists Merkle Manufactory, Inc. as based in Venice, CA, but its revenue, EBITDA, valuation, income statement, balance sheet, employee and funding fields are all unpopulated in the accessible portion of the page. No product roadmap, customer, or financial disclosures appear in the sources reviewed.

Business model

The sources reviewed do not describe how the company generates revenue. The Farcaster site presents a consumer-facing sign-up flow for a social network application and links to developer resources, but no pricing or monetization details are stated.

Latest developments

The farcaster.xyz site carries a 2026 copyright notice attributed to Neynar; the sources do not explain the relationship between Neynar and Merkle Manufactory, Inc.

▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, risks & controversies

Market position

The sources provide no market share, ranking, or competitive positioning data for Farcaster.

Technology

Farcaster is described as a decentralized social network in which users own their identity. The sources provide no further technical detail on protocol design or infrastructure.

Go-to-market

Consumer users of social networking software; the site also references a developers section, indicating third-party builders on the network.

Geography

Headquartered in Venice, California, United States, according to a PrivCo company profile. No other locations are indicated in the sources.

Risks & controversies

No risks or controversies relating to Merkle Manufactory, Inc. or Farcaster are reported in the sources reviewed.

Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Competitors · 8

by search overlap
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Coinbase12 shared keywordsCoinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that offers trading, custody, and financial services for cryptocurrencies, stocks, derivatives, and prediction markets to consumers, institutions, and developers. The company operates a full-stack infrastructure including secure custody, liquidity services, stablecoin infrastructure, and global settlement rails.
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Steam6 shared keywordsSteam is a digital distribution platform for purchasing, downloading, and playing PC video games, operated by Valve. It serves gamers worldwide and offers a client application with multi-language support.
Bitget6 shared keywordsBitget is a cryptocurrency exchange platform that also offers Bitget CFD, letting users trade traditional assets such as forex, gold, crude oil, and indices directly with USDT via an MT5 account. It provides multi-asset trading with up to 500x leverage for retail and crypto traders.
Zerion5 shared keywordsZerion is a self-custodial, multichain wallet and data platform that aggregates assets and positions across 58+ blockchains in real time, offering swap routing, trading, and an API for wallet data access. The platform serves cryptocurrency users and developers building onchain applications.

Companies competing with Merkle Manufactory, Inc. for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

Legal entities · 1

corporate structure
Merkle Manufactory, Inc.Delaware

▸Research sources · 4

primary sources listed

4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

What does Merkle Manufactory, Inc. do?
Farcaster is a decentralized social network where users own their identity, operated by Merkle Manufactory, Inc.
Who founded Merkle Manufactory, Inc.?
Merkle Manufactory, Inc. was founded by Daniel Romero, Varun Srinivasan in 2021.
Who are Merkle Manufactory, Inc.'s investors?
Merkle Manufactory, Inc.'s investors include 1confirmation, A.Capital Ventures, a16z crypto, Andreessen Horowitz, Archetype, Chapter One, Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures and 10 more.
How much funding has Merkle Manufactory, Inc. raised?
Merkle Manufactory, Inc. has disclosed $168.1M raised across 2 rounds.
Where is Merkle Manufactory, Inc. headquartered?
Merkle Manufactory, Inc. is headquartered in Venice, US.