Jay-Z, Charles Schwab-Backed Ethereum App Opens Doors to Public

The behind-the-scenes blockchain startup Alchemy, which powers 70% of the top applications on Ethereum, is stepping into the public eye as it opens its services to any company or developer looking for tools to build smart contract-based projects.

Founded in 2017 by Nikil Viswanathan and Joe Lau, Alchemy until now has operated in private mode where customers had to apply to use its software developer tools. Viswanathan, 32, and Lau, 31, met at Stanford University, where they both served as teaching assistants for a database class. They have since gone on to create a firm that counts as investors Duncan Niederauer, Charles Schwab, John Hennessy, Jay-Z, Jerry Yang, Ruchi Sanghvi and Will Smith. The co-founders want to remove the complexity from building blockchain applications so the nascent industry can grow.