Uber, Hotwire Execs Invest $2.25 Million in ChangeTip Competitor NeuCoin

Micropayments startup NeuCoin has raised $1.25m in angel and seed funding from over 20 individual investors, including King co-founder Patrik Stymne, Uber SVP Emil Michael and Hotwire president Henrik Kjellberg.

NeuCoin co-founder Dan Kaufman said the project would provide a similar service to that of prominent micropayments startup ChangeTip, in which he is an investor, while removing the need for consumers to use bitcoin.

In total, NeuCoin says it has raised $2.25m, with the additional $1m coming in the form of unpaid work the company has so far conducted since 2014.

To start, 3bn neucoins will be pre-mined and distributed to three non-profit organizations controlled by neucoin holders - the Code, Utility and Growth foundations - which will seek to expand and promote the altcoin.

Kaufman went on to suggest that while ChangeTip provides a satisfactory experience for bitcoin users, NeuCoin will aim to reduce barriers to entry through a "Freemium model" that keeps the value of neucoins low and enables them to be distributed in a cost-effective manner.

In statements, both Palmer and Pierce lauded the experience of the Neucoin team, while expressing their belief in the project and its prospects.

"The NeuCoin team has the best track record of consumer marketers involved in the digital currency space," Pierce said.

Neucoin's pre-sale is set to begin on 15th February with the price of neucoin starting at $0.01.

Correction: A previous version of this article suggested NeuCoin had raised $2.25m in angel funding.

NeuCoin has raised $1m in angel funding, $250,000 in seed funding and raised an additional $1m in its founders' unpaid work.