Announcement of Strategic Partnership Between Seetee and Ten31
Seetee and Ten31 have agreed to a strategic partnership to help accelerate the development of bitcoin infrastructure through increased investment in projects, companies, and founders building exclusively in the bitcoin ecosystem. As part of the partnership, Seetee has directly invested in Ten31's most recent fund, Low Time Preference Fund II, becoming a leading investor with Ten31. The fund's existing portfolio includes multiple industry leaders such as Unchained Capital and Strike and emerging players like Stakwork and Sphinx Chat, which are building innovative solutions in developing countries and pioneering new business models like value-for-value, respectively.
Ola Snøve, co-founder and Chair of Seetee, said, "Bitcoin is a protocol. As the internet has shown, resilient protocols are transformative and form the basis of entirely new industries. We believe that Bitcoin’s relevance will increase over the next decade, which is why we are especially excited about this partnership with Ten31. Grant, Jonathan, and their team have a deep understanding of Bitcoin and the long-term vision required to invest in companies and build structures that can last for generations."
Grant Gilliam, co-founder and managing partner of Ten31, said, "We are delighted to establish this partnership with Seetee, which is based on shared values and vision for the space, and an ultimate trust in working with high quality people of the highest integrity." Jonathan Kirkwood, also co-founder and managing partner of Ten31, added, "There is strong long-term alignment between the two organizations, and we couldn't ask for a better strategic partner than Seetee."
Seetee and Ten31 will each continue to independently invest directly in Bitcoin companies, with Ten31 serving as Seetee's preferred lead partner for investments pursued together or alongside one another. The alliance between Seetee and Ten31 aims to further the efforts each organization has made to support ecosystem development to date. Seetee and Ten31 have collectively already invested in more than 20 bitcoin companies, supported open source development through direct contributions and grants, and each brings to bear a diverse range of complementary experience and resources as value-added partners and contributors to the space.
Seetee became well known after its formation just over one year ago following the letter by Aker’s Chair Kjell Inge Røkke to the shareholders of the 180-year-old industrial group. In its announcement, Seetee highlighted its intention to actively participate in the Bitcoin community, contribute to free open source software, invest in and support projects and companies throughout the Bitcoin ecosystem, and establish bitcoin mining operations. Since then, Aker has executed exactly on that plan, building an in-house development team contributing to the space, investing directly as a partner to several Bitcoin companies, working towards mining operations that accelerate the energy transition, as well as keeping bitcoin on its balance sheet.
Ten31 has become a leading equity partner and supporter of bitcoin companies since ramping up its efforts over the last couple of years. In addition to Gilliam and Kirkwood, the Ten31 team includes notable venture partners Matt Odell and Marty Bent, each of whom are actively involved in numerous projects in the bitcoin space and have platforms for producing general industry and technical content, venture partner Michael Tanguma who is also an advisor to Unchained Capital, and Parker Lewis as an advisor to Ten31, who is head of Business Development at Unchained Capital and the author of the Gradually, then Suddenly series.
Through the partnership with Ten31, Seetee is significantly scaling its investment ambitions to support great companies in the space. Seetee and Ten31 believe their partnership will allow for a more positive overall impact on the ecosystem, with the overarching goals of facilitating further bitcoin adoption, advancing individual freedoms, and enabling human flourishing.
Both Seetee and Ten31 are supporters of the Human Rights Foundation, with Seetee sponsoring the Financial Freedom track as well as the Bitcoin Academy at the upcoming Oslo Freedom Forum, and Ten31 sponsoring the travel and accommodation of several developers to attend the Forum. Seetee and Ten31 view the further development of the bitcoin ecosystem as paramount to the advancement of human rights, and this is central to their motivations to be actively involved in the space.
About Aker and Seetee:
Aker is an industrial investment company with ownership interests concentrated in oil and gas, renewable energy and green technologies, maritime assets, marine biotechnology, and industrial software. Aker is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Seetee sees Bitcoin as a protocol for transfer of value much like https is a protocol for transfer of information. Seetee contributes to the development of free open source software, invests in seed and venture capital, encourages mining projects that accelerate the energy transition, and owns and accumulates bitcoin.
About Ten31:
Ten31 is a leading investment platform focused on backing bitcoin companies building the world's future infrastructure. Ten31 also supports development through grants to open source contributors using a recurring, management fee-driven contribution model, and also sponsors a developer seat at the Bitcoin Commons in Austin, TX.