Pinata
10 known investors
Pinata is an IPFS-based content storage and distribution platform for NFT and web3 creators, developers and marketplaces.
Also known as Pinata Technologies, Inc. · pinata.cloud
Investors · 10
Also in the syndicate · 4
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Pinata (Pinata Technologies, Inc.) operates a media infrastructure platform built on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), enabling creators, developers and marketplaces to store, manage and distribute content used by NFT projects, dapps, metaverses and marketplaces across blockchains. The company positions itself as a conduit to the IPFS network and also operates a content delivery network so that files can be served quickly and reliably.
Product features include Dedicated Gateways (custom-branded private IPFS nodes that fetch content faster than the public network), Submarining (token-gated or otherwise conditional unlocking of pinned content based on parameters such as NFT ownership, time sensitivity or geolocation), IPFS image resizing, video streaming through IPFS, rich previews and short links. The company has stated intentions to expand into faster uploading, file-type-specific experiences, team accounts and audience engagement tools, alongside educational content aimed at broadening web3 adoption among both technical and non-technical users.
Founding story
Co-founder Kyle Tut bought Bitcoin in 2015, became interested in Ethereum smart contracts in 2016 while working at a motorsports startup on audio communications for professional race teams, and quit that job in April 2017 to work in blockchain full time. Based in Omaha, Nebraska, he attended the 2017 Consensus Hackathon in New York and other hackathons to build a technical network as a non-technical founder, and started a local blockchain meetup that grew to roughly 500 people. The first person to contact him through the group was Matt Ober, a software engineer at a consulting company, who became his co-founder and CTO; the pair attended ETHWaterloo together, where CryptoKitties launched, and ran a blockchain consulting company. Observing that on-chain storage was prohibitively expensive — Tut cites roughly $4.5 million to store one gigabyte on Ethereum in 2018 — while IPFS was neither fast nor stable, they set out to make IPFS fast and stable. They launched Pinata at the ETHBerlin Hackathon in the fall of 2018 and won it.
Business model
Pinata sells subscription software packages providing IPFS storage, gateway and content distribution infrastructure to developers and creators, alongside partnerships with large NFT marketplaces and platforms.
Subscription pricing tiers described as Picnic ($20 per month), Fiesta ($100 per month) and Carnival ($100 per month).
Traction
Over 240,000 creators worldwide reported as of March 2023; partnerships cited with OpenSea, LooksRare, DraftKings and Yuga Labs.
Latest developments
In March 2023 Pinata announced a $21.5 million funding round co-led by Greylock, Pantera and Offline Ventures with participation from Volt Capital, OpenSea and Alchemy, to be used for infrastructure investment and educational efforts. The company also introduced rich previews and short links, a redesigned website and a revised pricing model.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Describes itself as a stable and efficient conduit to the IPFS network and the home for NFT media, supplying media infrastructure to marketplaces, metaverses, web3 apps and NFT projects across blockchains.
Focus on making IPFS fast and stable for production use, combined with creator-oriented distribution features such as private branded gateways and token-gated Submarining rather than storage alone.
Technology
Infrastructure layer on top of IPFS for pinning, storing and delivering off-chain data, plus a content delivery network. Key components include Dedicated Gateways (private, custom-branded IPFS nodes), Submarining for conditional/token-gated content access, IPFS image resizing, video streaming over IPFS, rich previews and short links.
Go-to-market
Web3 and NFT creators, developers, no-code users, NFT marketplaces, metaverse projects and dapp builders across blockchains.
Geography
Headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, serving creators worldwide.
History
Pinata was founded in 2018 in Omaha, Nebraska by Kyle Tut and Matt Ober, launching at ETHBerlin. The company struggled for close to two years because the NFT community was very small and the market was in a crypto winter, before traction improved as the NFT market began to grow in 2020. Greylock has been partnered with the company since 2021, participating in its Seed and Series A rounds. In August 2022 the company raised $18 million in a Series A, part of a larger $21.5 million seed and Series A total, which it publicly announced in March 2023.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsPinata publicly announced a $21.5M round co-led by Greylock, Pantera and Offline Ventures, with Volt Capital, OpenSea and Alchemy participating; proceeds earmarked for infrastructure and education.
$21.5M source ↗
Pinata cited partnerships with OpenSea, LooksRare, DraftKings and Yuga Labs.
Pinata introduced rich previews and short links providing exclusive gateways, alongside dedicated gateways, IPFS image resizing, IPFS video streaming and Submarining.
Kyle Tut and Matt Ober launched Pinata at the ETHBerlin Hackathon in the fall of 2018 and won the event.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- Raised $21.5M for Web3 Creators & Future NFTspinata.cloud · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Pinata do?
- Pinata is an IPFS-based content storage and distribution platform for NFT and web3 creators, developers and marketplaces.
- Who are Pinata's investors?
- Pinata's investors include Bullpen Capital, Tq Ventures Llc, Greylock Partners, Offline Ventures, OpenSea, VOLT CAPITAL.