Blockfenders

Blockfenders provides an enterprise-grade, no-code platform for secure data sharing operating within a zero-trust environment. The company was founded in 2022 by Viraj Phanse and Niranjan Ingale, who have been friends for two decades, with the goal of simplifying secure data exchange. The startup is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with an office in Pune, India.

The platform combines blockchain, cloud, and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) like Hedera and Hyperledger to establish an enterprise data exchange network. This allows for granular, controlled data exchange between multiple parties without exposing raw data. The system is designed to remove the dependency on IT and data engineering teams by allowing business and non-technical users to share data from various sources without writing code. Key features include end-to-end encryption, data masking, tamper-evident data verifiability, and access control through smart contracts. Blockfenders' architecture is built on a zero-trust model, which assumes that a breach is always a possibility and verifies every request meticulously, thereby protecting the data resource itself rather than just the security perimeter.

Co-founder and CEO Viraj Phanse has a background in product management at major tech firms including Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle. He holds an M.S. in Computer Science from UCLA and an MBA from UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business. Co-founder and CTO Niranjan Ingale is a serial entrepreneur who previously founded two other startups and has experience leading engineering teams at companies like AllScripts.

In February 2023, Blockfenders announced a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round. The investment involved institutional funds such as Blume Ventures, Together Fund, and Veda VC, as well as several angel investors. The company serves industries that handle sensitive information, including healthcare, banking, financial services, and technology enterprises. The platform aims to help organizations unlock the value of their data by breaking down data silos while ensuring privacy, governance, and integrity, potentially reducing data management costs by over 80% through automation.

Keywords: zero trust data sharing, no-code data platform, distributed ledger technology, enterprise data exchange, data security, data privacy, blockchain data sharing, data masking, secure data orchestration, fine-grained data access, API integration, data compliance, cross-border data exchange, data analytics, cybersecurity, financial services data, healthcare data, smart contracts