Merit Systems raises $10 million in round co-led by a16z crypto and Blockchain Capital

Merit Systems, a startup focused on changing the economics of open-source software development, raised $10 million in a seed funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto fund and Blockchain Capital.

Merit is developing an attribution protocol for open-source projects — a system that would track contributions and reward contributors proportionally to the value they create.

According to its founders, the protocol seeks to create a more sustainable economic model for open-source projects. The core idea is to attribute and reward contributors based on the value they add to a project, moving away from the dependence on volunteer contributions or corporate backing, which often dictates projects’ direction, the project noted.

“Merit adds rich attribution information to software version control systems like GitHub. It allows capital sources to route funds to codebases and incentivize builders directly,” the project said in a note shared with The Block.

The founders, including Ryan Sproule, Sam Ragsdale, and Mason Hall, have backgrounds in notable tech and crypto environments. Sproule previously worked at Blockchain Capital, while Hall and Ragsdale have experience with Andreessen Horowitz’s investment teams.

The $10 million seed round was announced with a post-funding valuation of $55.5 million.