Hiro
Hiro Systems PBC provides developer tools, APIs, and event-driven indexing infrastructure for the Stacks Bitcoin smart-contract ecosystem, serving web3 developers building DeFi, NFTs, and wallets via a self-serve platform with freemium and paid tiers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Hiro does
Hiro Systems PBC is a New York-based public benefit corporation that builds developer tools and APIs for Bitcoin layers, with a primary focus on the Stacks smart-contract blockchain. The company's product portfolio includes the Stacks Blockchain API (a REST API handling 600M+ requests per month at 99.97% uptime), the Token Metadata API for fungible and non-fungible token metadata, Chainhooks (event-driven reorg-aware indexing infrastructure, with v2 released February 2026), the Ordhook indexer for Ordinals, and the Hiro Platform — a unified web3 developer environment. Hiro also operates the Hiro Wallet browser extension and a content ecosystem (Hiro Books, blog, YouTube, Discord) that onboards developers into the stack.
The business runs a product-led, self-serve go-to-market: developers sign up at platform.hiro.so, receive API keys, and start building, moving from a free tier to paid Scale tier with a 99.90% SLA. Revenue is generated through tiered API subscriptions and usage-based pricing, with a remote-first team of 11-50 employees distributed across the US, Canada, the Netherlands, and Argentina. The company was created in 2021 (evolved from Blockstack, rebranded December 2020), raised $150 million in February 2022, and is backed by Goldman Sachs, Founders Fund, True Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, BlueYard Capital, and DRW. Leadership includes CEO Alex Miller (ex-Stack Overflow), Chairman Muneeb Ali (Stacks founder, Princeton PhD), and CTO Sarala B (ex-Mastercard Blockchain).
Hiro firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hiro
- Legal name
- Hiro Systems PBC
- Website
- https://hiro.so
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hiro Systems PBC provides developer tools, APIs, and event-driven indexing infrastructure for the Stacks Bitcoin smart-contract ecosystem, serving web3 developers building DeFi, NFTs, and wallets via a self-serve platform with freemium and paid tiers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hiro industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Blockchain Developer Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Smart Contract Frameworks & SDKs (developer kits, templates, standards) (FSAPABAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Deployment, Automation & DevOps (build pipelines, contract deployment tools) (FSAPABAH), Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing) (FSAPAAAH), Wallet Infrastructure (SDKs, Wallet-as-a-Service) (FSADACAD)
Keywords
Where Hiro is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Hiro business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- API Subscription Tiers: Hiro offers tiered API access with free and paid plans. Paid tiers provide increased API rate limits, dedicated support channels, and higher request quotas. Scale tier offers 99.90% SLA commitment.
- Usage-based API Access: Different account tiers with varying rate limits and request volumes. Higher usage tiers for enterprise developers with greater needs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier with basic API access |
| Subscription | Monthly | Scale tier with SLA guarantee |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Hiro product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hiro builds developer tools and APIs for Bitcoin layers, primarily serving the Stacks blockchain ecosystem. Its core offerings include REST APIs for blockchain data access (Stacks Blockchain API, Token Metadata API), an event-driven indexing service (Chainhooks), an Ordinals indexer (Ordhook), and the unified Hiro Platform for smart contract development, deployment, and onchain analytics. The company also operates the Hiro Wallet browser extension and produces educational developer resources.
Product overview
Hiro is a developer tools company for Bitcoin layers, providing a comprehensive suite of blockchain infrastructure products. The core offerings include the Hiro Platform (unified developer dashboard for Stacks), multiple APIs (Stacks Blockchain API, Token Metadata API, Chainhooks), and indexing tools (Ordhook for Ordinals). The product portfolio also includes developer documentation, educational guides, and the Hiro Wallet browser extension. Hiro builds developer tools for the Stacks ecosystem (smart contracts on Bitcoin) and broader Bitcoin layer technologies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Stacks Blockchain API Comprehensive REST API providing onchain data, smart contract interaction, and transaction broadcasting for the Stacks blockchain, processing 600M+ requests per month with 99.97% uptime. Targeted at developers building Web3 applications on Bitcoin layers.
- Token Metadata API API for verifying and displaying metadata for Stacks tokens including name, image, symbol, supply, and traits for DeFi and NFT applications, processing 4M+ requests per month with 99.9% uptime.
- Chainhooks Event-driven infrastructure-as-a-service that enables developers to register event listeners programmatically via API and stream onchain data directly to their backend, with automated reorg handling for Bitcoin and Stacks.
- Hiro Platform Web3 development platform for Stacks providing unified observability with enterprise-grade API key management, custom Chainhooks for real-time indexing, smart contract deployment tools, and deep onchain analytics.
- Ordhook Reorg-aware client indexer for Ordinals built using Chainhook technology, enabling developers to get accurate inscription data with indexing that takes hours instead of days.
- Hiro Wallet Browser extension wallet for Stacks that supports Ledger hardware wallets and Coinbase Pay integration for purchasing STX. Targeted at Stacks users who need a self-custody wallet with fiat on-ramp access.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99.97% uptime on Stacks Blockchain API
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Hiro
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Hiro technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature5 records
Hiro partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- StackscoreHiro is the leading entity in the Stacks ecosystem, which is a collection of independent entities, developers, community members, and leaders working to build the next generation of apps for Bitcoin. Hiro was created in 2021 specifically to serve developers building smart contracts for the Bitcoin blockchain through Stacks.
- XversecoreHiro partnered with Xverse to create an easy transition path for developers migrating from Hiro's deprecated L1 Bitcoin tooling (Ordinals, Runes, BRC-20 APIs). Xverse has built and maintains APIs for these use cases and is recommended as the alternative API provider.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Hiro competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Alchemy: Alchemy is a leading Web3 developer platform offering APIs, indexing, and node services across multiple blockchains. It is the closest direct peer to Hiro's blockchain API and developer tooling business, with broader chain coverage but no Stacks specialization.
- Infura (Consensys): Infura provides RPC and API infrastructure primarily for Ethereum and related chains, and is one of the longest-running blockchain developer infrastructure providers. Comparable to Hiro in delivering hosted node access and developer APIs to Web3 builders.
- QuickNode: QuickNode offers multi-chain blockchain infrastructure, APIs, and developer tools with a self-serve marketplace model very similar to Hiro's PLG approach. It directly competes for the same Web3 developer customer with comparable API and indexing products.
- Moralis: Moralis provides Web3 APIs, SDKs, and a development platform for building dApps across chains. It is a direct competitor to Hiro's API and developer platform offering with a similar product-led, developer-first positioning.
- The Graph: The Graph operates a decentralized indexing protocol and hosted service for blockchain data, with subgraphs that index on-chain events. It competes with Hiro's Chainhooks and Ordhook indexing products as a developer-facing data layer.
- Chainstack: Chainstack provides managed blockchain nodes and APIs across multiple protocols. It targets the same developer persona as Hiro and offers comparable RPC and API services with a self-serve model.
- Xverse: Xverse is a Bitcoin wallet and Bitcoin L1 API provider that Hiro explicitly recommended as a migration target after deprecating its Ordinals, BRC-20, and Runes APIs in March 2026. Direct overlap in Bitcoin developer tooling.
- Leather: Leather (formerly Hiro's Stacks wallet predecessor) is a Bitcoin and Stacks browser wallet that is itself a Hiro customer using the Token Metadata API. It competes in the Stacks wallet space that Hiro's Hiro Wallet also addresses.
Emerging players
- Pocket Network: Pocket Network is a decentralized RPC infrastructure protocol for Web3 applications. It is an emerging alternative to centralized API providers like Hiro, with overlapping developer-facing infrastructure capabilities.
Broad incumbents
- Coinbase Cloud: Coinbase Cloud (an investor in Hiro via Coinbase Ventures) provides institutional-grade crypto infrastructure including node services and staking. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping but more diversified crypto infrastructure offerings.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Hiro social profiles
Digital presenceHiro financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hiro leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Hiro funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hiro 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 Hiro
What does Hiro do?
Hiro builds developer tools and APIs for Bitcoin layers, primarily serving the Stacks blockchain ecosystem. Its core offerings include REST APIs for blockchain data access (Stacks Blockchain API, Token Metadata API), an event-driven indexing service (Chainhooks), an Ordinals indexer (Ordhook), and the unified Hiro Platform for smart contract development, deployment, and onchain analytics. The company also operates the Hiro Wallet browser extension and produces educational developer resources.
Is Hiro a public or private company?
Hiro is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Hiro founded?
Hiro was founded in 2021. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hiro based?
Hiro is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hiro make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. API Subscription Tiers are the primary driver. The others are usage-based API Access.
Who are Hiro's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Alchemy, Infura (Consensys), QuickNode, Moralis, The Graph, Chainstack, Xverse and Leather. Pocket Network is listed as an emerging player. Coinbase Cloud is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Hiro have an API?
Yes. Hiro offers multiple APIs for the Stacks and Bitcoin blockchain ecosystems: the Stacks Blockchain API (REST API for interacting with Stacks blockchain, 600M+ requests/month, 99.97% uptime), Token Metadata API (metadata for Stacks tokens including DeFi and NFTs, 4M+ requests/month, 99.9% uptime), Chainhooks API (event-driven infrastructure as a service for real-time blockchain data processing via webhooks), Ordinals API (deprecated March 2026, migration to Xverse recommended), BRC-20 API (deprecated March 2026), Runes API (deprecated March 2026), Bitcoin Indexer (deprecated), Stacks Node RPC API, Platform API, and Signer Metrics API. The APIs offer HTTPS, Websocket, and Socket.io support. All APIs are open source with code available on GitHub. Developer documentation is at docs.hiro.so.
What industry is Hiro in?
Hiro's product category is Blockchain Developer Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPABAB, Smart Contract Frameworks & SDKs (developer kits, templates, standards), with a secondary code of FSAPABAH, Deployment, Automation & DevOps (build pipelines, contract deployment tools). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7371.