ConsenSys is a private blockchain software technology company founded by Joseph Lubin and based in New York City. History Joseph Lubin founded ConsenSys in early 2015 as a software foundry to develop decentralized software services and applications that operate on the Ethereum blockchain. On October 31, 2018, ConsenSys acquired Planetary Resources, an asteroid mining company. In December 2018, ConsenSys announced a restructuring with projected layoffs of thirteen percent of its 1,200 staff, and in February 2020 announced the layoffs of a further 14% of staff. In August 2020, ConsenSys acquired banking blockchain platform Quorum from JPMorgan Chase & Co. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In November 2021, ConsenSys raised $200 million at $3.2 billion valuation from Animoca Brands, Coinbase Ventures and HSBC among others. In March 2022, ConsenSys raised $450 million in a new round led by ParaFi Capital, with Microsoft, SoftBank, and Temasek also joining as new investors in the company. Projects ConsenSys is involved in many different projects and services for blockchain uses and applications. MetaMask is an Ethereum wallet application which allows users to store and transfer cryptocurrencies and tokens, as well as access and interact with decentralized applications built on the Ethereum blockchain. The software is free to use on desktop as a browser extension or through its mobile app. Infura is a blockchain node infrastructure service that allows apps and developers to get data from, and broadcast transactions to, the Ethereum blockchain. Infura's network is utilized as a backend for Ethereum services and applications, including MetaMask and many others not associated with ConsenSys. The company has started or invested in several different projects that are not considered to be core to their business, have been spun out into more independent entities, or are not wholly owned by ConsenSys. Some of these include Meridio, a platform used to create, manage, and trade fractional-share ownership in real estate assets, and Gnosis Safe, a platform for managing digital assets securely on ethereum. ICOs Several ConsenSys companies and projects have raised capital from the public in the form of initial coin offerings (ICOs). Gnosis, a ConsenSys-backed prediction market project sold GNO tokens to the public in an ICO in April 2017. The company raised $12.5 million at $300 million valuation, completing its ICO in under 12 minutes. The valuation was criticized by several prominent members of the community. Grid+, a ConsenSys company in the electricity distribution