1inch Network is a decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator and DeFi infrastructure company founded in May 2019 by Sergej Kunz and Anton Bukov during the ETHNew York hackathon. Incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, the company grew from a weekend project into one of the most widely used swap aggregation protocols in the crypto industry, routing user trades across dozens of liquidity sources to find the best available prices. Beyond its core product, 1inch has made a measured set of strategic investments in early-stage DeFi and Web3 projects, with a portfolio of approximately ten companies and one lead investment on record.
The company raised significant external capital before adopting an investor role itself. It closed a $2.8 million seed round in 2020 backed by Binance Labs and Galaxy Digital, followed by a $12 million Series A led by Pantera Capital in early 2021. Later that year it closed a $175 million Series B. These rounds gave 1inch the balance sheet to extend beyond product development into backing aligned protocols and teams. The company's investment activity is strategic rather than financial-first: it targets projects that expand the reach or composability of its aggregation and DeFi services.
1inch launched its native governance and utility token, 1INCH, in December 2020 via a retroactive airdrop to early users. The token is used for staking, governance voting, and accessing protocol incentives. The project also introduced Fusion mode in 2022, a gasless swap mechanism that routes orders through a network of resolvers competing to fill trades, replacing the earlier Pathfinder routing model.
Notable investments
Public information about 1inch's specific portfolio companies is limited. The company has not disclosed a formal venture program or published a named fund. Its investments appear to be strategic minority stakes in DeFi protocols and infrastructure teams, announced case by case rather than through a structured pipeline. One publicly acknowledged investment is its lead participation in a round for a DeFi project in its ecosystem, though deal terms and co-investors have not been fully disclosed. Further portfolio details are not confirmed in public filings or press releases as of early 2026.
Team
- Sergej Kunz, Co-founder and CEO – A German software engineer and entrepreneur, Kunz previously worked in cybersecurity and backend development before turning full-time to DeFi. He is the public face of 1inch and has represented the project at major industry conferences.
- Anton Bukov, Co-founder and CTO – A Russian developer with deep Solidity and smart contract experience, Bukov led the technical architecture of the aggregation protocol and its subsequent iterations including Fusion mode.
The wider 1inch Labs team, the development entity behind the protocol, employs engineers and researchers across Europe and remotely. The governance structure separates 1inch Labs (product development) from the 1inch Foundation (ecosystem grants and community initiatives).
Recent activity
In 2024 and into 2025, 1inch expanded its multichain footprint, adding support for additional EVM-compatible networks and experimenting with cross-chain swap routing. The team worked on integrating intent-based trading flows, a broader industry shift away from on-chain transaction execution toward off-chain order matching settled on-chain. 1inch also introduced developer APIs to let wallets and applications embed its aggregation layer directly, broadening its B2B surface beyond retail users. The 1inch Foundation continued distributing ecosystem grants to teams building on or integrating the protocol, functioning as a parallel soft-investment channel distinct from direct equity or token investments. See the official 1inch website and the developer documentation for current product details.
As a corporate investor, 1inch occupies a niche position: it is far better known as a DeFi protocol than as a venture backer, and its portfolio activity reflects that. Deals tend to be ecosystem-driven rather than return-driven, targeting projects that increase liquidity depth or extend the protocol's reach into new chains and user segments. With a lean disclosed portfolio and one lead investment on record, 1inch's investment profile remains modest relative to dedicated crypto funds, but its strategic alignment with DeFi infrastructure gives it a clear thesis. Public reporting on specific portfolio names remains sparse, and the company has not published a fund prospectus or LP structure, suggesting investments are made from the corporate treasury rather than a separate vehicle. More details on the project's governance and token economics are available via 1inch Governance.