Cloudflare Workers Launchpad program grows to $2B, adds 14 new partners

CLOUD

Content delivery network provider Cloudflare Inc. today announced that its Workers Launchpad funding program has grown to $2 billion for potential investments in startups and has added 14 new partners.

The program launched in September with $1.25 billion in funding for startups that use the Cloudflare Workers platform. It enables the instant deployment of serverless code to deliver better performance, reliability and scale, according to the company. The platform taps into Cloudflare’s global network to offer automatic scaling and support for instant cold starts.

“When we set out to debut the Workers Launchpad, we were aiming for $250 million and surpassed that goal by a mile when we hit $1.25 billion,” Matthew Prince, co-founder and chief executive officer of Cloudflare, said in a statement. “To reach $2 billion is a big deal and one that proves the industry trusts in the potential of our global network.”

Since the initial announcement of the program, Cloudflare has received a surge in interest globally from venture capitalists interested in joining the program. It has now welcomed 14 additional venture capital partners into the program, adding regional expertise in Latin America and the Middle East to the pool of partners.

The new venture partners include 8VC, B Capital, Benhamou Global Ventures, Chamaeleon, Conversion Capital, GGV, IGNIA, Kleiner Perkins, Nauta Capital, Primary VC and Unusual Ventures.

Along with announcing additional funding and partners, Cloudflare also announced the Workers Launchpad’s Fall 2022 Cohort. The cohort comprises of 25 entrepreneurs from around the world, chosen from hundreds of applicants from over 30 countries. Cohort finalists include data privacy startup Apyfy Technologies s.r.o. and accelerated back-end software development company Grafbase Inc. 

Emphasizing Cloudflare’s desire for this to be a global program, successful applicants hailed from countries including Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore and the U.K., along with the U.S. The cohort will have the opportunity to pitch Cloudflare’s VC partners for investment, receive technical advice and support, participate in a virtual boot camp featuring sessions led by Cloudflare leaders and its VC partners, and showcase their businesses during a demo day.

“We’ve been blown away by the engagement and excitement the venture capital firms have shown when they saw the caliber of applicants,” said Mia Wang, M&A and strategy director at Cloudflare. “The selection process for the first cohort has been collaborative and we’re looking forward to connecting startups directly with VCs in the coming weeks.”

In a deep dive on Nov. 5, Dave Vellante, chief analyst at SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s research unit Wikibon, explored how Cloudflare’s supercloud is what the notion of multicloud should have been. “Despite the recent hit on its stock, Cloudflare has traction in the market,” Vellante said. “As it adds new services such as zero trust and object store and database, its total addressable market continues to grow. And it is just getting started.”

Image: Cloudflare