Brink
Brink is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2020 that funds, mentors, and coordinates open-source Bitcoin Core and Lightning Network protocol developers through grants, fellowships, and a London engineering office, supported entirely by donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Brink does
Brink is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2020 by John Newbery and Mike Schmidt to strengthen the Bitcoin protocol and network by funding, mentoring, and coordinating open-source developers. Its core products are a Fellowship Program for new contributors and a Grants Program for established Bitcoin Core and Lightning Network engineers, supplemented by The Bitcoin Development Podcast (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the Bitcoin Core PR Review Club. As of 2025 Brink funds eight full-time and part-time engineers — including maintainers, security researchers, and specialists in fuzz testing, P2P networking, Schnorr/CISA cryptography, and post-quantum signatures — with a London office supporting in-person collaboration among grantees.
The organization's business model is donation-driven: 100% of public donations flow to developer grantees, with operational costs covered by founding sponsors (John Pfeffer and Wences Casares). Donations are accepted in Bitcoin, fiat, and stablecoins, and Brink holds 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (EIN 85-2919136), making U.S. donations tax-deductible. Cumulative donations exceed $15M since founding, including #startsmall's $5M five-year commitment, Coinbase/GiveCrypto's $3.6M contribution, Xapo Bank's $1.4M over four years, and recurring mechanisms such as Bitwise's 10% ETF profit-share and Ledger's $5 per hardware wallet sold.
Brink's go-to-market is community-led: developer recruitment runs through the PR Review Club, Chaincode Labs seminars, Summer of Bitcoin, and Qala mentorship pipelines, with no commercial sales motion. Per BitMEX Research, Brink has been identified as the top funder of Bitcoin Core development by number of active developers and reviewers supported. The organization is governed by a board including Mike Schmidt, Jonathan Bier, and Alex Leishman, with a grant committee chaired by Schmidt and including Cory Fields and Niklas Gögge.
Brink firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Brink
- Legal name
- Brink Technology, Inc.
- Website
- https://brink.dev
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Brink is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2020 that funds, mentors, and coordinates open-source Bitcoin Core and Lightning Network protocol developers through grants, fellowships, and a London engineering office, supported entirely by donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Brink industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Open Source Bitcoin Protocol Development Funding
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)
Keywords
Where Brink is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Brink business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Donations from individuals and organizations: 100% of donations support Bitcoin developer grantees. Brink is 501(c)(3) tax-deductible. Accepts Bitcoin, fiat via credit card/Stripe, and stablecoins.
- Corporate sponsorships: Major sponsors including #startsmall ($5M over 5 years), Coinbase ($3.9M), Xapo Bank ($1.4M over 4 years), Marathon Digital Holdings ($500K matching), Samara Asset Group ($150K), Ledger ($5 per hardware wallet sold), and many others.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Other | Free grant and fellowship programs for developers |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Brink product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Brink is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds and supports open source Bitcoin protocol developers through a Fellowship Program (mentoring new contributors) and a Grants Program (sustaining established Bitcoin Core and Lightning engineers). The organization raises donations from individuals and corporate sponsors, with 100% of public donations disbursed to developer grantees while operational costs are underwritten by founding sponsors. Brink also operates the Bitcoin Development Podcast and a multi-currency donation platform.
Product overview
Brink is a nonprofit organization offering two primary programs: a Fellowship Program that supports and mentors new contributors to open source Bitcoin development, and a Grants Program that supports established Bitcoin protocol engineers. The organization also produces the Bitcoin Development Podcast featuring conversations with Bitcoin and Lightning contributors. A donation platform enables tax-deductible contributions via Bitcoin, Lightning, fiat, and stablecoins. All donations are directed to developer funding through 501(c)(3) tax status.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fellowship Program Year-long program supporting and mentoring new contributors to open source Bitcoin development. Fellows work full time on Bitcoin Core or Lightning Network projects with mentorship from experienced Bitcoin Core developers and access to in-person collaboration at Brink's London office.
- Grants Program Program providing full-time and part-time grant funding to established Bitcoin protocol engineers working on Bitcoin Core, Lightning Network, and related open-source projects. Grantees have no obligations to sponsoring organizations and are selected through an application process reviewed by the grant committee.
- Donation Platform Web-based donation platform enabling tax-deductible contributions to fund Bitcoin developers. Accepts Bitcoin, Lightning, fiat (credit card/Stripe), and stablecoins with suggested recurring tiers ($5, $20, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000 per month). 100% of public donations go to developer grantees.
- The Bitcoin Development Podcast Podcast featuring discussions with Brink fellows, grantees, and Bitcoin space professionals about Bitcoin and Lightning technology. Content is licensed Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 and available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Castbox, and RSS.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 11,000 review comments by Brink engineers in 2023
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Brink
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Brink technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Brink partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- BlockstreamminorBlockstream is one of 13 major funding organizations supporting Bitcoin Core development, as identified in BitMEX Research analysis of the Bitcoin sponsorship ecosystem.
- Chaincode LabscoreChaincode Labs runs Bitcoin and Lightning Seminars and residencies that serve as a pipeline for Brink fellowship and grant recipients. Emily Kee contributed to Chaincode Labs before joining Brink.
- MIT Digital Currency InitiativeminorMIT DCI is one of 13 major funding organizations supporting Bitcoin Core development, with Cory Fields employed by MIT and serving on Brink's grant committee.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Brink competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Strengths4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Brink social profiles
Digital presenceBrink compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Brink financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Brink leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Brink funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Brink M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Brink
What does Brink do?
Brink is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds and supports open source Bitcoin protocol developers through a Fellowship Program (mentoring new contributors) and a Grants Program (sustaining established Bitcoin Core and Lightning engineers). The organization raises donations from individuals and corporate sponsors, with 100% of public donations disbursed to developer grantees while operational costs are underwritten by founding sponsors. Brink also operates the Bitcoin Development Podcast and a multi-currency donation platform.
Is Brink a public or private company?
Brink is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Brink founded?
Brink was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Brink based?
Brink is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Brink make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations from individuals and organizations are the primary driver. The others are corporate sponsorships.
Does Brink have an API?
No public API is recorded for Brink.
What industry is Brink in?
Brink's product category is Open Source Bitcoin Protocol Development Funding. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAHAC, Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8300.