Neynar is an infrastructure company for developers building on decentralized social networks, especially the Farcaster protocol. The company was founded in July 2023 and has quickly become a key player in the Web3 social ecosystem.

I myself also didn't even know about Neynar until I heard they acquired Farcaster. That's reason why I do this research

Neynar provides a complete platform for developers to build social applications on Farcaster without having to operate their own complex infrastructure. The company is often compared to Alchemy in the Ethereum ecosystem, but focused specifically on decentralized social protocols.

• Provides read/write APIs to interact with Farcaster social data.

• Cloud-hosted hub services (replacing self-hosted nodes that can cost hundreds of USD per month).

• Authentication tools and indexed databases.

• Webhooks and custom data pipelines.

Rishav (@rish_neynar) Mukherji – CEO and co-founder

• Graduated from Harvard University in 2015 (Computer Science).

• 7+ years of product management experience.

• Previously worked at Coinbase (2019–2023), where he helped build Base.

• Also worked at Facebook (Messenger) and Microsoft.

• Startup experience with Mywa (a commerce platform on WhatsApp for SMBs in Africa and Southeast Asia).

Manan Singh – Co-founder (engineer)

• Former Coinbase employee.

• Expertise in Web3 technologies.

• Currently operating out of California.

As you can see, both founders of Neynar are former Coinbase investors, so Neynar can be considered a company with a close relationship with Coinbase.

Location: Neynar’s LinkedIn lists “Lórien, US” as its primary location. Based on the founders’ profiles, the company is centered in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

Team size

• As of June 2025, Neynar has 9 full-time employees.

• Reported to be growing rapidly after completing its Series A.

• A very lean startup with a flat organizational structure.

Funding and finance

Total capital raised: 14.2 million USD.

Pre-Seed/Seed: 3.2 million USD

• Notable early investors: Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan (co-founders of Farcaster).

• Notable angel investors: Balaji S., Alex Svanevik, Pankaj Gupta, Linda Xie.

• Funds: a16z CSX, Polymorphic Capital, Mask Network.

Series A: 11 million USD (May 30, 2024)

• Lead investor: Haun Ventures (founded by Kathryn Haun, a well-known crypto VC).

• Participating investors: Union Square Ventures, a16z CSX, Coinbase Ventures.

• Confirmed in the article: “Neynar raises $11M to build technology stack for social protocols”.

Product traction

• Serving thousands of developers.

• 50,000+ users publishing to Farcaster through Neynar.

• Recorded J-curve growth in the 10 months before its Series A.

Notable customers

• Supercast (broadcast app).

• Drakula (short video and creator monetization).

• Bountycaster (marketplace).

• Automod (moderation tool).

• Dune (large-scale data analytics).

Neynar offers 5 pricing tiers of their product.

1/ Free

• Price: 0 USD

• Credits: 200K

• Features: Read API /user, /cast

2/ Starter

• Price: 9 USD/month

• Credits: 1M

• Features: Webhooks, hub endpoint, all read/write APIs

3/ Growth

• Price: 49 USD/month

• Credits: 10M

• Features: Hosted SQL playground, custom tables, indexer

4/ Scale

• Price: 249 USD/month

• Credits: Unlimited

• Features: All Growth features + data pipelines

5/ Enterprise

• Price: Custom

• Credits: Custom

• Features: Global hub endpoints, signers, 24/7 support

As we was announced, Neynar has taken control of Farcaster. On January 21, 2026, Farcaster co-founders Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan announced that Neynar would acquire the entire Farcaster protocol.

Deal details

• Neynar will take over: the protocol smart contracts, code repositories, the official Farcaster app, and the Clanker platform.

• The Farcaster co-founders are stepping back to pursue new projects.

• Some staff from Merkle (the company that originally built Farcaster) will join Neynar.

• Neynar has committed to publishing a new builder-focused roadmap.

This event marks a clear shift from “tooling provider” to “protocol owner”, giving Neynar end-to-end control across the protocol, app, and infrastructure layers.

Neynar is not the only company in this space, but it holds a unique position:

Strengths

• Leadership coming out of Coinbase (high credibility in crypto).

• Early relationship with Farcaster (the co-founders were early investors).

• Strong focus on developers and builder experience.

• Backed by top-tier funds (Haun, a16z, USV).

Challenges

• Heavy dependence on Farcaster (even though they plan to expand to other protocols).

• The decentralized social market is still relatively small.

• Potential competition from larger infrastructure providers.

Neynar is an ambitious Web3 startup focused on infrastructure for developers building on decentralized social protocols. With a small but highly capable team (9 people), 14.2M USD in funding, and strong leadership from Coinbase alumni, the company has quickly become the default infrastructure choice for Farcaster, to the point where it can now acquire the entire protocol.

At first, the rumor spread fast that Coinbase was going to acquire Farcaster. Excitement built across the community. Then the truth came out. It was not Coinbase, but Neynar that acquired Farcaster (Although, according to the research above, Neynar also has many connections with Coinbase), and the mood quickly shifted.

Reactions were mixed. Retail users and airdrop hunters were disappointed, saying this likely ends any hope of a Farcaster airdrop. On the other side, builders looked at it differently. For them, this move showed the team was willing to take action and push the project forward instead of standing still.

At the same time, $CLANKER (@clanker_world) holders faced a rough moment. The CLANKER price dropped below $30 today, triggering negative reactions across the market.

What do you think about this news? It's bullish or bearish for CLANKER?

Neynar is an infrastructure company for developers building on decentralized social networks, especially the Farcaster protocol. The company was founded in July 2023 and has quickly become a key player in the Web3 social ecosystem.

I myself also didn't even know about Neynar until I heard they acquired Farcaster. That's reason why I do this research

Neynar provides a complete platform for developers to build social applications on Farcaster without having to operate their own complex infrastructure. The company is often compared to Alchemy in the Ethereum ecosystem, but focused specifically on decentralized social protocols.

• Provides read/write APIs to interact with Farcaster social data.

• Cloud-hosted hub services (replacing self-hosted nodes that can cost hundreds of USD per month).

• Authentication tools and indexed databases.

• Webhooks and custom data pipelines.

Rishav (@rish_neynar) Mukherji – CEO and co-founder

• Graduated from Harvard University in 2015 (Computer Science).

• 7+ years of product management experience.

• Previously worked at Coinbase (2019–2023), where he helped build Base.

• Also worked at Facebook (Messenger) and Microsoft.

• Startup experience with Mywa (a commerce platform on WhatsApp for SMBs in Africa and Southeast Asia).

Manan Singh – Co-founder (engineer)

• Former Coinbase employee.

• Expertise in Web3 technologies.

• Currently operating out of California.

As you can see, both founders of Neynar are former Coinbase investors, so Neynar can be considered a company with a close relationship with Coinbase.

Location: Neynar’s LinkedIn lists “Lórien, US” as its primary location. Based on the founders’ profiles, the company is centered in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

Team size

• As of June 2025, Neynar has 9 full-time employees.

• Reported to be growing rapidly after completing its Series A.

• A very lean startup with a flat organizational structure.

Funding and finance

Total capital raised: 14.2 million USD.

Pre-Seed/Seed: 3.2 million USD

• Notable early investors: Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan (co-founders of Farcaster).

• Notable angel investors: Balaji S., Alex Svanevik, Pankaj Gupta, Linda Xie.

• Funds: a16z CSX, Polymorphic Capital, Mask Network.

Series A: 11 million USD (May 30, 2024)

• Lead investor: Haun Ventures (founded by Kathryn Haun, a well-known crypto VC).

• Participating investors: Union Square Ventures, a16z CSX, Coinbase Ventures.

• Confirmed in the article: “Neynar raises $11M to build technology stack for social protocols”.

Product traction

• Serving thousands of developers.

• 50,000+ users publishing to Farcaster through Neynar.

• Recorded J-curve growth in the 10 months before its Series A.

Notable customers

• Supercast (broadcast app).

• Drakula (short video and creator monetization).

• Bountycaster (marketplace).

• Automod (moderation tool).

• Dune (large-scale data analytics).

Neynar offers 5 pricing tiers of their product.

1/ Free

• Price: 0 USD

• Credits: 200K

• Features: Read API /user, /cast

2/ Starter

• Price: 9 USD/month

• Credits: 1M

• Features: Webhooks, hub endpoint, all read/write APIs

3/ Growth

• Price: 49 USD/month

• Credits: 10M

• Features: Hosted SQL playground, custom tables, indexer

4/ Scale

• Price: 249 USD/month

• Credits: Unlimited

• Features: All Growth features + data pipelines

5/ Enterprise

• Price: Custom

• Credits: Custom

• Features: Global hub endpoints, signers, 24/7 support

As we was announced, Neynar has taken control of Farcaster. On January 21, 2026, Farcaster co-founders Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan announced that Neynar would acquire the entire Farcaster protocol.

Deal details

• Neynar will take over: the protocol smart contracts, code repositories, the official Farcaster app, and the Clanker platform.

• The Farcaster co-founders are stepping back to pursue new projects.

• Some staff from Merkle (the company that originally built Farcaster) will join Neynar.

• Neynar has committed to publishing a new builder-focused roadmap.

This event marks a clear shift from “tooling provider” to “protocol owner”, giving Neynar end-to-end control across the protocol, app, and infrastructure layers.

Neynar is not the only company in this space, but it holds a unique position:

Strengths

• Leadership coming out of Coinbase (high credibility in crypto).

• Early relationship with Farcaster (the co-founders were early investors).

• Strong focus on developers and builder experience.

• Backed by top-tier funds (Haun, a16z, USV).

Challenges

• Heavy dependence on Farcaster (even though they plan to expand to other protocols).

• The decentralized social market is still relatively small.

• Potential competition from larger infrastructure providers.

Neynar is an ambitious Web3 startup focused on infrastructure for developers building on decentralized social protocols. With a small but highly capable team (9 people), 14.2M USD in funding, and strong leadership from Coinbase alumni, the company has quickly become the default infrastructure choice for Farcaster, to the point where it can now acquire the entire protocol.

At first, the rumor spread fast that Coinbase was going to acquire Farcaster. Excitement built across the community. Then the truth came out. It was not Coinbase, but Neynar that acquired Farcaster (Although, according to the research above, Neynar also has many connections with Coinbase), and the mood quickly shifted.

Reactions were mixed. Retail users and airdrop hunters were disappointed, saying this likely ends any hope of a Farcaster airdrop. On the other side, builders looked at it differently. For them, this move showed the team was willing to take action and push the project forward instead of standing still.

At the same time, $CLANKER (@clanker_world) holders faced a rough moment. The CLANKER price dropped below $30 today, triggering negative reactions across the market.

What do you think about this news? It's bullish or bearish for CLANKER?