New Kind of Network

What New Kind of Network does

NKN (New Kind of Network) is a decentralized peer-to-peer network infrastructure company founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Mateo, California, with 11–50 employees. It operates a blockchain-based protocol that enables distributed connectivity and data transmission by incentivizing node operators through the native NKN token. The protocol's core technical component is MOCA (Meta-Optimal Consensus Algorithm), a consensus mechanism designed to support proof-of-relay at internet scale; the network transitioned from testnet (2018) to mainnet (2019).

The company's commercial surface consists of two products. nMobile, launched in 2020, is a consumer-facing secure mobile messaging application that uses the NKN protocol as its transport layer. dataRide, launched in 2021, is an enterprise-focused data mobility platform positioned for decentralized file transfer and content delivery workloads, exemplified by its commercial partnership with iQiyi (announced 2020), the large Chinese streaming platform.

NKN's business model combines (a) enterprise custom solutions and consulting against its networking platform, with the iQiyi engagement representing the principal named customer reference, and (b) protocol-level economics driven by the NKN token, which is used to compensate node operators and consumed by applications built on the network. The company is led by three co-founders: Yilun Zhang as Chief Technology Officer, Zheng Li as co-Chief Executive Officer, and Yanbo Li as Chief Executive Officer.

Name

New Kind of Network

Legal name

New Kind of Network

Website

https://nkn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NKN (New Kind of Network) is a decentralized peer-to-peer network infrastructure company founded in 2017 and headquartered in San Mateo, California. It operates a blockchain protocol using its proprietary MOCA consensus algorithm and offers two commercial products, nMobile and dataRide, serving enterprise customers and decentralized application developers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized Network Infrastructure

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Wired and Wireless Telecommunications (except Satellite) (5171)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Computer Communications Equipment (3576)

akta.pro primary industry

Unified NMS Platforms (Fault/Performance/Configuration) (HDAFAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Secure Remote Access / ZTNA Gateways (Appliance/Virtual Appliance) (HDAFAFAI), Network Security Services (Firewall/VPN/ZTNA/SASE Integration) (BPAEAEAG), Software-Defined Perimeter (SDP) / Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) (HDADABAC)

Keywords

• Decentralized network infrastructure
• Blockchain network protocol
• Peer-to-peer connectivity
• Decentralized messaging
• Edge computing solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

San Mateo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Network Token Economics: NKN uses economic incentives to motivate Internet users to share network connections and utilize unused bandwidth. Node operators are rewarded with NKN tokens for providing network connectivity and relaying data.
2. Enterprise Custom Solutions (dataRide): Custom-built solutions such as nCDN and nConnect for enterprise customers with specific requirements, particularly in video streaming and edge computing use cases.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

New Kind of Network (NKN) operates a peer-to-peer network connectivity protocol and ecosystem powered by a novel public blockchain using the MOCA consensus algorithm. The company offers nMobile, a decentralized chat application with integrated wallet, and dataRide, a custom enterprise solutions platform including nCDN (decentralized content delivery) and nConnect products. Economic incentives (NKN tokens) are used to motivate Internet users to share unused network connections and bandwidth.

Product overview

NKN is a peer-to-peer network connectivity protocol and ecosystem powered by a novel public blockchain, using economic incentives to motivate Internet users to share network connections and utilize unused bandwidth. The product portfolio consists of two main offerings: nMobile (a decentralized chat and wallet application) and dataRide (custom-built solutions like nCDN and nConnect plus developer resources). Both products operate on NKN's decentralized infrastructure, eliminating the need for centralized servers and providing private, secure data transmission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• nMobile: All-in-one decentralized chat application with wallet integration that eliminates centralized servers for enhanced security and privacy.
• dataRide

Products and services

• nMobile Decentralized chat application with integrated wallet for individual consumers, enabling peer-to-peer messaging on the NKN network.
• dataRide Custom-built enterprise solutions platform that includes nCDN for decentralized content delivery and nConnect for network connectivity, serving enterprise customers with specific performance and edge computing requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports millions of full consensus nodes, exceeding Bitcoin and Ethereum capacity
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• iQiyicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBaidu-owned video streaming giant iQiyi partnered with NKN for blockchain-based performance enhancement. GSMA documented a case study where NKN engaged with one of China's largest video service providers experiencing phenomenal customer growth. The joint effort represents advancement in blockchain and edge computing interoperability.
• China MobilecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNKN engaged with a major video service provider in China during China Mobile's 5G rollout period. This timing enabled NKN to demonstrate its network capabilities alongside next-generation mobile infrastructure deployment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Filecoin: Decentralized data storage network with token incentives for storage providers. Similar P2P incentive architecture and infrastructure-protocol business model to NKN.
• Theta Network: Decentralized video delivery and edge-compute network with token-incentivized peer relaying. Closest peer to NKN's dataRide (nCDN) offering for video streaming customers like iQiyi.
• Akash Network: Decentralized cloud computing marketplace using token incentives. Directly comparable to NKN's positioning around decentralized compute, edge, and network capacity sharing.
• Sia: Decentralized cloud storage network using token incentives. Comparable P2P infrastructure protocol with a similar developer-driven, open-source distribution model.
• Render Network: Decentralized GPU rendering network using token incentives. Comparable P2P infrastructure model with similar enterprise-adjacent use cases in compute-intensive workloads.
• Livepeer: Decentralized video transcoding infrastructure with token-incentivized node operators. Directly comparable to NKN's positioning for video/streaming and edge-compute workloads.
• Helium: Decentralized wireless network that uses token incentives to motivate individuals to deploy and operate network infrastructure. Highly comparable to NKN's model of token-incentivized P2P connectivity at global scale.
• Flux: Decentralized cloud infrastructure network with token-incentivized node operators. Comparable peer-to-peer infrastructure and developer-hosting model to NKN's nMobile/dataRide.

Emerging players

• IoTeX: Blockchain platform purpose-built for IoT devices with decentralized identity and off-chain compute. Overlaps with NKN's IoT/edge use-case segment but with a narrower hardware focus.

Broad incumbents

• Cloudflare: Established global CDN, edge, and zero-trust networking platform. Represents the centralized incumbent alternative NKN is positioning against in networking, security, and developer infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/nknorg
• Xx.com/NKN_ORG

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors8 records

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about New Kind of Network