Can You Invest in LangChain Stock?

Generative AI and LLMs (large language models) are going mainstream.

However, the true power of this technology is not using it in isolation but embedding it into existing workflows.

For instance, many people use ChatGPT to answer questions or generate content, but many more will end up using it indirectly via the applications built on its technology.

LangChain is an open-source Python framework that helps developers integrate LLMs into custom applications, including chatbots, generative questioning and answering, summarization, language translation, object detection, games, and more.

The project's popularity among developers and enterprises led to a $10 million seed investment from Benchmark and, one week later, a $25 million round led by Sequoia Capital, which valued the company at over $200 million.

Is there a way for you to invest in LangChain, too?

Can you buy LangChain stock?

Since LangChain is a private company, it is not available on a public exchange, there's no stock symbol, and no way for you to buy it in your brokerage account.

However, accredited investors can buy its shares on Hiive.

Hiive is a pre-IPO investment marketplace for shares of private, VC-backed startups. Some of the most active companies on Hiive are SpaceX, Databricks, and Anduril.

Accreditation requirements

To qualify as an accredited investor, you must meet one of the following criteria:

• Have an annual income of $200,000 individually or $300,000 jointly.
• Have a net worth that exceeds $1,000,000, excluding your main residence.
• Be a qualifying financial professional.

At the time of this writing, there are 2 live orders of LangChain stock:

Disclaimer: Investing in private securities is risky, and performance is not guaranteed.

On Hiive, sellers — which may include employees, venture capitalists, or angel investors — can create listings and sell their shares to accredited investors. Each seller sets their own asking price and quantity of shares available.

Buyers can see the entire order book for every company on Hiive, including all asks, all bids, and all recent transactions. Buyers can accept a seller's asking price as listed, place bids, or get updates on companies by adding them to their watchlists.

To see what price shares of LangChain are trading at or to add it to your watchlist, register for Hiive with the button below:

Register for Hiive

How can LangChain make money as an open-source project?

While LangChain is an open-source project, that doesn't mean it can't generate revenue.

There are a number of open source projects that are run by or have themselves turned into very profitable companies. A few examples are Ubuntu (run by Canonical), MongoDB (MDB), GitLab (GTLB), and Redis.

LangChain launched LangSmith, its first paid product, in February 2024. 

LangSmith is an all-in-one platform that allows developers to quickly spot the source of errors and the performance bottlenecks of their applications in real-time. 

According to Sequoia Capital (an investor), the product is being used by thousands of enterprises every month.

LangChain could create additional products and services, such as an enterprise version that could include hosting, custom APIs, and priority customer support.

Who founded LangChain?

LangChain was launched in a Twitter thread in October 2022. 

Harrison Chase created the open-source project while working as an engineer at a machine-learning startup called Robust Intelligence.

The project quickly gained traction within the developer community. LangChain now has over 88,000 stars on GitHub, 42,000 active Discord members, over 145,000 followers on Twitter, and over 2,000 contributors. 

Ankush Gola is a co-founder of LangChain. Gola worked with Chase at Robust Intelligence for a year before taking a job at Unfold. 

Gola left Unfold in October 2022 — the same time LangChain was officially launched — which was three months before Chase left Robust Intelligence.

Who has invested in LangChain?

LangChain has raised $35 million over two rounds.

In February 2024, the company received $10 million in seed funding from Benchmark Capital, a venture capital firm that has successfully invested in multiple open-source projects, including MySQL, Red Hat, Zimber, Elastic, and Docker.

A week later, LangChain raised an additional $25 million at a valuation of at least $200 million in its series A round led by Sequoia Capital.

Other investors included Conviction, Amplify Partners, and Lux Capital.

The company was pre-revenue at the time of the round.