In a world where our digital lives are run by centralised algorithms designed to harvest our data and manage what we see, Berlin-based Anytype is the first no-code web builder that supports fundamental digital freedoms. The local-first, peer-to-peer, open-source tool that gives user the freedoms of the web, without sacrificing their privacy, data, or control.
Open Beta launch
Now, the revolutionary, peer-to-peer web builder designed to restore our digital freedoms has netted a $13.4 million round led by Balderton Capital (known for backing Sylvera, 32Co, and Grasp). Inflection and Square One also participated, as well as prominent angels from the software and Web3 world including Trent McConnaghy (Ocean), Jutta Steiner (Polka Dot), Luis Cuendo (Aragon) and Adam Wiggins (Heroku).
This funding comes soon after the launch of Anytype’s highly anticipated open Beta version with a whopping waitlist of over 75,000 people. It is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android. The funding is being used to further develop Anytype’s platform and bring it to even more people.
Zhanna Sharipova, co-founder of Anytype said: “We believe software should support fundamental digital freedoms – privacy of thoughts, freedom of speech, right to authorship, and autonomy from software providers. These freedoms are the foundation of any well-governed society and with the rise of cryptography and peer-to-peer stack, it’s finally possible to guarantee these freedoms by encoding them into the architecture of the software we use. Previous experience has shown us that people fall in love with products, not protocols. By focusing on no-code tools coupled with our decentralised architecture, we’d like to equip creators and communities to build the web on their own terms”.
Colin Hanna, Partner at Balderton said: “The progress in productivity software has allowed incredible levels of innovation but too often we lose ownership over what we’ve created. With Anytype, users are able to own the information and the networks they create, without an intermediary. At a time when there are crackdowns on digital independence around the world, Anytype allows people to leverage future-proof software while remaining sovereign. We’re proud to be supporting them as they begin an exciting new chapter.”
The idea behind Anytype
Originally, the Internet was meant to establish a decentralised and widely distributed network, enabling the free exchange of information among computers. However, the emergence of the modern web has dramatically altered this landscape.
Now, we find ourselves locked within a system dominated by exclusive ownership of proprietary files, applications, and servers controlled by a privileged few. App developers hold the keys, influencing our recommendations, determining who gets promoted or remains obscured, and channeling our data into AI systems for their personal gain. In this scenario, developers are the beneficiaries of the content created, rather than the creators themselves.
Hit by the reality seeing their home country Russia exploiting such technologies to gain control over user data and information, Anton Pronkin and Zhanna Sharipova founded Antype in 2018 to fix this imbalance. Their mission is to restore the Internet to its original design by reengineering the systems from the ground up.
World’s first open-source web builder
Anytype allows creators and communities to build spaces – graph-based analogs of websites. The platform has been built to mimic the ways in which our brains source, categorise and process thoughts by creating networks of interlinked objects. As a local-first, decentralised, open-source operating system users have full control over their own information, networks and creations.
The company opened up repositories to its 100,000-strong community to deliver best-in-class software while supporting fundamental digital freedoms in the world of bits.
Over 30,000 people, including software developers, students, nurses, city planners, pharmacists, nuns, and the police took part in Anytype’s Alpha release. The private and secure nature of its system also makes it ideal for people handling sensitive information.
