As we’ve collectively moved so many parts of our lives — from personal photos to banking to intimate messages with loved ones — online, the need for privacy and security has increased. Simultaneously, we’ve seen a dramatic uptick in data breaches, advertisers tracking users, and government censorship and spying.

That’s why it’s so important Tenta, the secure browser company, has raised an undisclosed seed round from ConsenSys Ventures. ConsenSys Ventures is global blockchain-focused VC fund founded by managing partner Kavita Gupta and Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin.

“We are thrilled to secure our first seed round from ConsenSys, a company that shares our values in helping to create a more secure internet that protects data instead of exploiting it,” said Jesse Adams, Tenta CEO. “Our mission to make private and secure browsing fast and ubiquitous received a huge boost with ConsenSys support to expand to other platforms while continuing to innovate great new privacy features.”

Tenta and ConsenSys are a logical fit due to their focus on privacy and security. While other browsers track user activity in order to sell it to advertisers — their main source of income — Tenta offers built-in security and privacy features, including default data encryption. The goal is to solve security problems before they become an issue.

“We help people solve these problems with a next generation browser that includes all the privacy and security tools you need built in,” Adams said. “That includes full data encryption, built-in VPN, DNS over TLS, ad blocker, anti-tracker, HTTPS Everywhere, and more. We also support several blockchain protocols and services, such as decentralized DNS, Metamask, and RightMesh.”

Additionally, by decentralizing user browsing data and their VPN network, Tenta has created a cyber-criminal resistant private browser.

“Of course, no software is completely unhackable, but we also decentralize two critical components to make it less attractive to try,” Adams says. “Those two components are your browsing data and the VPN network that enables truly private browsing. That means your browsing history and password keys are not stored on any centralized servers and you can choose to connect to the built-in browser VPN locations or run your own VPN node instead.”

Additionally, Tenta and ConsenSys are a great pair because there has been a lot of movement in the world of crypto-currency and blockchain to rebuild internet infrastructure and decentralize power. There hasn’t, however, been the same movement and investment for the average user, who wants access to a more secure and private browsing experience with minimal friction. With help from ConsenSys, Tenta will continue to redefine the term “private browser,” which is currently applied to the barely private browsing experiences offered by conventional browser. Stay tuned as they work together to bring the world’s first truly private browser to more platforms and a bigger market.

Next Steps

Tenta currently boasts nearly a million installs. The company is now converting over 42% of our traffic to installs, which is up from 19% the year before. In some countries, especially where the internet is censored, it’s as high as 65%. Tenta also recently turned on Tenta Pro, a device wide VPN subscription service that protects all apps on your device and subscriptions are growing at 20-25% a month. Tenta’s growing customer base is proving that the browser business does not have to rely on ads and data collection to be successful.

Going forward in 2019, this investment will help the company achieve three primary goals:

1. Bringing Tenta to all major platforms. - Tenta is currently on Android only, but will move faster to expand to Windows and then iOS next.
2. Expanding our VPN Network and Protocol - The core mission to make private browsing ubiquitous means investing in Tenta’s decentralized VPN technology and empowering the community to help make it fast and reliable. The company is using blockchain technology to redefine what it means to be a secure network and you can learn more about that here.
3. Promoting the Browser - Building a new browser is a bit crazy. There are quite a few competitors out there. There’s a lot of work to do to get more people to learn about Tenta and try it out. For this reason, Consensys Ventures is the very definition of smart money. Not only are they providing funding to bolster our marketing plans, but having a major influencer and evangelist on our side is an incredible boost. The Tenta team will execute on a number of initiatives this year to increase the distribution and customer base.

“We’re looking forward to the next chapter in our journey. ConsenSys is an awe-inspiring organization and we’ve gotten to know many brilliant people from the organization over the past year at events like Trufflecon and the Tachyon Accelerator Demo Day,” said Adams. “We love the collaborative nature of this community. We’re looking forward to deeper collaborations as we build the browser of the future!”

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