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R3 consortium calls claims of running out of money 'categorically untrue'

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R3 consortium calls claims of running out of money 'categorically untrue'

Enterprise blockchain software company R3 denied claims in a Fortune article that the consortium is running out of money, calling the claims "categorically untrue" in an emailed statement.

The news outlet on June 7 cited two former R3 employees who said the blockchain consortium could run out of money by early 2019. The employees, who remained anonymous in the article, said R3's fundraising efforts fell short of its goals.

The company told S&P Global Market Intelligence that it has raised more than $120 million from more than 45 institutions to date, adding that the numbers provided by the former employees are "hugely over- or under-exaggerated and clearly designed to cause harm" to the company's reputation.

The employees stated that R3, which launched in 2014, widely missed internal financial targets that it set a year ago. Charley Cooper, a managing director at R3, told Fortune that the company exceeded its revenue targets in 2017. Cooper reportedly did not provide specific figures but said that R3 would give an update at the end of this year.

Although the consortium has seen some high-profile defections over the last 18 months, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, it still includes large banks such as Bank of America Corp., Bank of New York Mellon Corp., Citigroup Inc., State Street Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co.

"To put this into context, while a small handful of banks made headlines over a year ago for parting ways with R3, we have since partnered with over 20 additional banks," the company said in its emailed statement, adding that it works with nearly 100 banks, while boasting more than 200 members and partners.