Parity Technologies

What Parity Technologies does

Parity Technologies is a London-headquartered, remote-first open-source blockchain infrastructure company founded in 2015 by Dr. Gavin Wood, co-founder of Ethereum. The company builds and maintains the Polkadot network — described as the first secure heterogeneous sharded blockchain, capable of securing over 100 parallel shards — as well as the Substrate blockchain framework and the Polkadot SDK. Its technology stack is built primarily in Rust and uses WebAssembly and a RISC-V-based execution environment (the Polkadot Virtual Machine / PVM), with Ethereum compatibility layered on through the Revive smart contract environment. Supporting developer tools include Polkadot JS, subxt, the SCALE codec, Zombienet, and the ink! smart contract language. The company employs approximately 200 people across four European hubs (London, Berlin, Lisbon, Zug) plus wholly owned subsidiaries in Germany, Portugal, and Singapore.

The company serves three primary segments: Web3 developers and startups building decentralized applications; enterprise organizations seeking to adopt Web3 infrastructure; and the 600+ projects already building within the Polkadot ecosystem. Named ecosystem participants include Mythical Games (a gaming platform with approximately 6.5 million active monthly users) and OriginTrail (a supply chain protocol supporting 40% of U.S. imports). Parity distributes its technology exclusively through open-source channels (primarily GitHub) and the Polkadot Deployment Portal, with no direct product sales.

Parity's business model is unconventional: its core technology is open source and free to use, and revenue appears to flow primarily from the Web3 Foundation through grants and ecosystem development partnerships rather than direct customer contracts. The company is privately held under Parity Technologies Limited, registered in England and Wales (company number 09760015), with no public listing. The most recent disclosed venture funding is a $5 million grant from the Ethereum Foundation in January 2019, and the company has not disclosed audited revenue, ARR, or operating financials. Recent strategic emphasis has been on Ethereum compatibility (Polkadot Hub, Revive), economic model refinement (Runtime 2.1.0 with a 53.6% issuance reduction), and the handover of non-core tools (Polkadot JS transferred to BlockDeep Labs in June 2025).

Name

Parity Technologies

Legal name

Parity Technologies Limited

Website

https://parity.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Parity Technologies is a London-based, remote-first open-source blockchain infrastructure company that builds and maintains the Polkadot network, Substrate framework, and Polkadot SDK. Founded in 2015 by Ethereum co-founder Dr. Gavin Wood, it serves Web3 developers, enterprises, and the 600+ projects in the Polkadot ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Infrastructure

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Layer 1 Base Protocols & Consensus (execution, consensus, security, clients) (FSAPAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing) (FSAPAAAH), Interoperability & Cross-Chain Messaging (bridges, IBC, messaging, routing) (FSAPAAAE)

Keywords

• Blockchain infrastructure
• Web3 development
• Smart contract platform
• Blockchain development tools
• Polkadot ecosystem

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Web3 Foundation Partnership: Parity Technologies works closely with the Web3 Foundation to develop and maintain the Polkadot network. The relationship appears to be funded through Web3 Foundation grants and ecosystem funding. Parity engineers the protocol while the foundation provides ongoing support and ecosystem development.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Parity Technologies builds core blockchain infrastructure for the Polkadot network, a heterogeneous sharded blockchain supporting 100+ shards. The company develops and maintains Substrate (a modular blockchain building framework), the Polkadot SDK, Polkadot Hub (a modular smart contract platform with EVM and RISC-V compatibility), Revive (smart contract execution environment), ink! (Rust-based smart contract language), and developer tools (subxt, Zombienet, SCALE Codec). All technology is distributed as open-source software, with revenue sourced through a licensing/royalty relationship with the Web3 Foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Polkadot Network A heterogeneous sharded blockchain network that uses nominated proof-of-stake consensus and supports over 100 parallel shards, providing native scalability, resilience, and security for Web3 applications. Used by enterprises, developers, and ecosystem projects building parachains, dApps, and cross-chain solutions.
• Polkadot Hub A modular smart contract platform for Polkadot that supports both EVM (Ethereum-compatible) and RISC-V-based (PVM/PolkaVM) contract execution with a unified gas model. Provides staking, governance, identity, and asset management services for developers and enterprises.
• Revive A smart contract execution environment for Polkadot Hub that delivers both EVM compatibility and RISC-V-based (PVM) performance with full Solidity support, precompiles for cross-consensus messaging (XCM), and identity management. Targets Ethereum developers and advanced smart contract use cases.
• Substrate 2.0 Flexible, modular, and highly customizable blockchain building framework that helps developers build blockchains quickly. Used by top Web3 projects around the world and serves as the foundation for the Polkadot SDK.
• ink! 4.0 A Rust-based programming language for writing WebAssembly smart contracts for Substrate-based chains. Powers Polkadot's native smart contract development.
• Polkadot JS (Polkadot Developer Suite) A JavaScript/TypeScript-based developer tool suite for Polkadot and Substrate chains, including the Polkadot JS Apps interface, API, Extension, and related libraries. Distributed as open source; transitioned to BlockDeep Labs in 2025.
• Polkadot Runtime 2.1.0 A major runtime upgrade for the Polkadot network that introduces a new DOT issuance model, staking reforms, and on-chain governance updates. Reduces network issuance by 53.6% and updates the protocol's economic architecture.
• Polkadot 2025 Upgrade Major Polkadot network upgrade that introduced faster block times, Elastic Scaling, Ethereum compatibility, and PolkaVM smart contract support.
• Polkadot Deployment Portal (PDP) A self-service platform that provides the simplest way to build and deploy a secure rollup on Polkadot, enabling developers to launch testnets with a single click while maintaining native security and scalability.

Quantifiable outcome

• Polkadot ecosystem has grown to 600+ projects
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BlockDeep LabscoreTechnology or Integration · 3 June 2025BlockDeep Labs, a Berlin-based blockchain engineering firm founded by former Parity staff, took over the support and maintenance of the entire Polkadot JS suite in 2025. The suite includes the Developer Interface (Polkadot JS Apps), API, Developer Signer (Extension), and related libraries. Parity and BlockDeep Labs collaborated closely on the progressive handover, including rebranding and ongoing maintenance.
• Web3 FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Parity Technologies works closely with the Web3 Foundation, which was established to act as a counterpart to Parity for the purposes of promoting the development of Polkadot. Parity completed the launch of Polkadot with the Web3 Foundation in 2020 and remains the driving force behind the blockchain network's technical progress. The Web3 Foundation funds research and development of Polkadot and coordinates ecosystem activities.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ethereum Foundation: The Ethereum Foundation stewards the Ethereum protocol and funds core research and development — directly comparable to Parity's role with Polkadot. Both are non-profit-aligned foundations stewarding major L1 protocols with similar funding/grant models and ecosystems of independent developers building on the base layer.
• Solana Labs: Solana Labs is the core development company behind the Solana L1 blockchain, comparable to Parity as the core development entity behind Polkadot. Both compete for high-throughput Web3 workloads, developer mindshare, and enterprise deployments.
• Informal Systems (Cosmos): Informal Systems is a core contributor to the Cosmos ecosystem (Cosmos SDK, IBC, CometBFT) — directly comparable to Parity's role as a core contributor to Polkadot/Substrate/XCM. Both companies focus on interoperability-first L1 architecture with similar developer tooling philosophies.
• Avalanche Foundation: Avalanche is a competing L1 with a subnet architecture and emphasis on interoperability, comparable to Polkadot's parachain model. Both target enterprise-grade blockchain deployments and compete for the same developer and institutional customer base.
• Mysten Labs: Mysten Labs is the core development company behind the Sui L1 blockchain, built by former Meta/Novi engineers. Comparable to Parity as a venture-backed core development company behind an emerging L1, with similar focus on high-throughput, developer-friendly infrastructure.
• NEAR Foundation: The NEAR Foundation stewards the NEAR Protocol L1 blockchain. Comparable as a foundation-aligned entity stewarding a competing smart-contract L1, with similar focus on developer experience, sharding architecture, and enterprise adoption.

Emerging players

• Offchain Labs: Offchain Labs builds Arbitrum, a leading Ethereum L2 rollup that competes with Polkadot's scaling story. Comparable as a venture-backed infrastructure company that has raised significant capital, building a competing scaling solution that targets similar developer and enterprise use cases.
• Chainlink Labs: Chainlink Labs builds the Chainlink oracle network and related CCIP cross-chain messaging protocol. Comparable as a venture-backed Web3 infrastructure company that builds critical developer tooling and interoperability infrastructure — overlapping with Parity's cross-chain messaging (XCM) focus.

Broad incumbents

• Polygon Labs: Polygon Labs develops Polygon PoS, Polygon zkEVM, and other Ethereum scaling solutions. Comparable as a broad incumbent Web3 infrastructure company targeting similar enterprise and developer use cases as Polkadot, with overlapping emphasis on Ethereum compatibility.
• Protocol Labs: Protocol Labs builds Filecoin, IPFS, and related Web3 infrastructure. Comparable as a foundation-aligned, open-source Web3 infrastructure company with a similar philosophy around decentralized infrastructure and a comparable organizational/governance model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ParityTech
• GitHubgithub.com/paritytech
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paritytech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Parity Technologies