# SIMBA Chain Financial Model

SIMBA Chain is a no-code/low-code blockchain API development platform that lets enterprises build, deploy, and manage smart-contract-backed applications across multiple blockchains without deep blockchain expertise.

- Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/simba-chain
- Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/simba-chain.xlsx
- Category: Crypto/Web3
- Model type: SaaS ARR / Valuation
- Funding round: Series A
- Funding: $25M
- Founded: 2022
- Geography: USA-headquartered; some international presence (Flinders University AU, Toks MX)
- Customer: B2B

## About the company

SIMBA Chain is a no-code and low-code blockchain API platform that lets organisations build, deploy, and manage smart-contract applications without deep blockchain engineering. It supports multichain development and sells enterprise tooling rather than asking every customer to assemble its own blockchain stack.

The US-headquartered company was raising a Series A and also had government-contract and education-licensing opportunities, including some international presence. This gives it a mixed enterprise revenue base: recurring platform subscriptions can sit alongside implementation, public-sector projects, and education-related licensing.

Model enterprise customers, developers, subscription tiers, API consumption, implementation projects, government contracts, and education licences separately. Forecast expansion and churn by customer segment, then include cloud infrastructure, solution engineering, support, sales, and compliance costs. New client wins, deployment scale, usage growth, public-sector timing, and retention should be the scenario variables.

## What's included

- 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions
- Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule
- Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking
- Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check
- Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR
- Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention

## Product & value proposition

- No-code/low-code smart contract designer (SCD) and API auto-generator
- Point SIMBA at any Web3 smart contract (with code or ABI) and it generates an enterprise-grade REST API - described as "MuleSoft for Web3"
- Chain-agnostic: supports 9 blockchains (Ethereum, RSK, Hyperledger Fabric, Consensys Quorum, Binance, Hyperledger Burrow, Stellar, Avalanche, Hyperledger Sawtooth) and 5 data stores
- Graph search layer for data insights
- Use-case verticals: government/defence supply chain, NFTs/digital assets, education (LMS), enterprise supply chain
- Positioning differentiator vs. Alchemy: SIMBA deploys a contract in 4 steps vs. 16 steps

## Market

- Blockchain market 2020: ~$3B; projected 2025: ~$40B
- CAGR: 67.3%
- TAM: compared to "Internet '98" scale - no $ figure given
- SAM: $30 billion
- SOM: $7 billion
- SOM breakdown (today): Government $5B by 2025; Blockchain Education Software $48M; NFT Marketplace $2B
- Future SOM labelled "TOMORROW": same three segments plus "100s more applications built on SIMBA's platform"

## Revenue model

- Platform/API subscriptions for enterprise and government clients
- Government contracts (US Air Force, Navy, Army, DoE, NAVAIR, USMC) - likely fixed-price or T&M government contracts
- Education licensing: 21 universities signed to recurring revenue contracts
- NFT marketplace and digital-asset services (frontend AND backend opportunity mentioned)
- No specific pricing tiers, ARR figure, or contract values disclosed in the deck

## Traction & metrics

- 360% revenue growth in 2020
- 5,000+ users and growing
- 21 universities signed to recurring revenue contracts
- Customers/logos shown: University of Notre Dame, Boeing, US Marines, Queens College, CGI, Toks (200+ restaurant chain), US Air Force, Zuckerberg Media, UNC Charlotte, The Ohio State University, Navy, ManTech, LSU, NAVAIR, ITAMCO, US Army, Morgan State University, Flinders University, US Department of Energy, Portland State University
- Awards: 2019 Best New Tech in Indiana; 2019 TechCrunch Disrupt Top Pick; 2020 First Air Force Olympics Gold Medal; 2020 Tibbetts Award (past winners: Qualcomm, 23andMe)
- NFT deals with Notre Dame athletics, Club Brugge, West Ham United
- Car-title asset verification noted: 75% of titles require manual investigation - quantified pain point

## Competition / moat

Competitors named: Alchemy, Consensys Codefi, Stezy, SettleMint, Kaleido

Moat claims:
- Government vertical: "leading blockchain provider, way ahead of anyone else"
- Education vertical: no competition as a blockchain teaching tool for non-coders
- Feature differentiation: Low-code UI + multi-chain deployment + smart-contract API auto-generation + graph search data relationships + enterprise-class integration - deck claims SIMBA is alone in combining all five
- Deep tech requires ~2 years from world-class team to replicate; substantial head start
- Chain portability creates switching cost: "easy to migrate to more cost-effective blockchains" is pitched as a benefit but also creates platform stickiness

## Team & funding ask / use of funds

Team:
- Bryan Ritchie, CEO - serial entrepreneur, 380 startups, 17 exits
- Ian Taylor, CTO & Co-Founder - blockchain development expert
- Joe Matz, COO - 25+ years at Microsoft
- Joel Neidig, President of Govt Ops & Co-Founder - prior exit to Siemens
- Andrew Harrison, VP Engineering
- Neil Halpern, VP Solutions Architecture - Boeing, Expeditors Int'l background
- Matthew Shroyer, VP Legal & HR

Board: Phil Koen (ex-CEO Equinix/Savvis/Intermedia), Michael Lempres (ex-CLO Coinbase), Steve O'Hara (Valley Capital)

Investors (existing): KKR founders and managing directors (George Roberts, Henry Kravis, Rob Lewin, Dave Welch, Herald Chen); Notre Dame Pit Road Fund; Stanford Law School Venture Fund; Dick Kramlich (NEA); Chris Schaepe (Lightspeed); William R. Hearst III; Israel Englander (Millennium); Ken Goldman (Hillspire/Eric Schmidt); Travis Schlenk (Atlanta Hawks); John Giannandrea (Apple SVP AI); Jon Edwards (SpaceX VP Engineering); many others

Funding ask: "A Series" fund raise. Specific raise amount and use of funds not disclosed in the deck.

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## Recommended financial model

**Archetype + why:**
Multi-segment SaaS/contract revenue model with three distinct streams:
1. **Government contracts** - likely milestone/T&M or annual contract value (ACV); relatively large, lumpy deals
2. **Enterprise/commercial SaaS** - recurring platform subscription (API access); seat- or usage-based
3. **Education SaaS** - per-institution annual recurring contract (lowest ACV, most predictable)
An NFT/marketplace revenue line should be a toggle given the 2021 NFT boom context (high uncertainty).

**Forecast horizon & granularity:**
- 5-year annual model (2021–2025), with Year 1 split monthly for cash-flow visibility
- Granularity: segment revenues modelled separately (Government, Enterprise, Education, NFT/Other)

**Key drivers & assumptions:**

Revenue drivers:
- 2020 revenue growth: 360% YoY
- Forward growth rate:
- Government segment as % of revenue:
- University contract ACV:
- Enterprise ACV:
- Platform users: 5,000+ total; conversion to paying customer assumption
- NFT revenue:
- Net revenue retention:

Cost drivers:
- R&D/engineering:
- S&M:
- G&A:
- Gross margin:
- Blended gross margin:

**Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):**
- Base: 150% revenue growth in Year 1; government wins 2–3 new large contracts; education scales to 50 universities by Year 3; enterprise commercial ramps slowly
- Bull: Government spend accelerates (DoD blockchain mandates); NFT/digital-asset line becomes material; Series A capital enables aggressive S&M hiring; net revenue retention >120%
- Bear: Government budget cycles slow contract renewals; NFT market collapses (high probability post-2022); enterprise sales cycles elongate; platform competition intensifies from Alchemy/Consensys

**Required sheets / outputs:**
1. Assumptions - all drivers, segment toggles (Gov't / Enterprise / Education / NFT)
2. Revenue Build - by segment: contracts × ACV × growth; MRR/ARR waterfall
3. Income Statement - 5-year annual + Year 1 monthly
4. Headcount Plan - engineering, sales, G&A
5. Cash Flow & Runway - critical for Series A sizing; how much runway does the raise buy?
6. KPI Dashboard - ARR, net revenue retention, logo count by segment, gross margin %, burn multiple
7. Scenario toggle (Base / Bull / Bear)

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the SIMBA Chain financial model free?

Yes. The SIMBA Chain model is a free Excel download with live formulas.

### Can I change the assumptions?

Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.