A fast-growing San Francisco startup called TRM Labs, which built its business helping law enforcement track crypto crooks, notched a $1 billion valuation after raising a $70 million Series C funding round in September. Barely six months later, the company has raised an add-on to that round that the company says has resulted in investors doubling its valuation in response to its fast-growing AI business.
In an interview with Fortune, TRM Labs CEO Esteban Castano said the company now views its mission as not based simply on blockchain forensics, but on mapping online crime more broadly—crime that is being turbo-charged with the advent of AI. To this end, the startup is rolling out a new platform for its customers specifically designed to identify and thwart crooks running scams based on artificial intelligence.
“AI is a second growth engine for our business, not a pivot,” said Castano, adding that its core crypto business is still going strong. “Blockchain intelligence is a multi-decade business. We want to build a generational company.”
As part of the company’s evolution, the 35-year-old Castano said, TRM Labs has adopted a horizontal focus on criminal networks. This focus has come from the insight that criminals of all stripes—from cyber hackers to wildlife poachers to child pornographers—use cryptocurrency, which in turn provides the company with take a broad, network-based view of crime.
