Neynar
Neynar is a developer platform that provides infrastructure, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and tools for building applications on the Farcaster protocol, a decentralized social network. The company offers a suite of products designed to simplify access to Farcaster's data and functionalities, allowing developers to create social applications, clients, and AI agents. On January 21, 2026, Neynar acquired the Farcaster protocol and its related assets, becoming the primary steward for the ecosystem's ongoing development and maintenance. [1] [2]
Overview
Neynar's core mission is to be the "fastest way to build social mini apps, clients, and AI agents" on Farcaster and to simplify the process of software development within a crypto-native environment. [1] [3] The platform functions as an infrastructure layer on top of the Farcaster protocol, abstracting away the technical complexities of interacting directly with the network's decentralized nodes, known as "hubs." By managing its own hubs and providing indexed, real-time data streams, Neynar allows developers to focus on application logic and user experience rather than backend infrastructure. [4] [2]
The platform's offerings range from fundamental read/write APIs to advanced AI agent creation and a low-code "App Studio." A key product, "Sign-In with Neynar," addresses a critical adoption hurdle by enabling developers to onboard users with write access to Farcaster for free. [1] [5] Prior to its acquisition of Farcaster, Neynar was a prominent third-party infrastructure provider in the ecosystem. The acquisition solidified its central role, merging its developer-focused tools with the direct stewardship of the protocol itself. [6]
History
Before its acquisition of Farcaster, Neynar established itself as a critical infrastructure builder within the Farcaster ecosystem. Its primary business was providing "Farcaster-as-a-service" tools, which were widely adopted by developers for their reliability and for simplifying interaction with the protocol. [2]
The company secured an $11 million Series A funding round co-led by Haun Ventures and Union Square Ventures (USV). The round also included participation from a16z Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, and numerous other venture capital firms and angel investors from the technology and crypto industries. This funding positioned the company for further growth and development of its platform. [7]
The most significant event in the company's history occurred on January 21, 2026, when it announced the acquisition of Farcaster. This move transformed Neynar from a key service provider into the central entity responsible for the protocol's future. [3]
Acquisition of Farcaster
On January 21, 2026, Neynar officially announced its acquisition of the Farcaster protocol, its primary client application, and related assets from the founding company, Merkle Manufactory. The move was described as a "full-stack handoff" that positioned Neynar as the new leader of the project. [3] [6]
Background and Context
The acquisition occurred after Farcaster's original founders, Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan, decided to step away from the project to pivot to a new venture focused on a wallet application. [8] At the time, media reports described the Farcaster social app as "struggling" to achieve sustainable user growth, despite having raised $150 million in a 2024 funding round led by Paradigm and Andreessen Horowitz. In announcing the transition, co-founder Dan Romero stated, "This wasn’t an easy decision. But after five years, it’s clear Farcaster needs a new approach and leadership to reach its full potential." [2]
Transition of Stewardship
As part of the acquisition, Neynar assumed responsibility for all key Farcaster assets, including the protocol's smart contracts, official code repositories, the primary mobile client (formerly known as Warpcast), and an AI token launchpad project called "Clanker." [2] [3] This solidified Neynar's role as the central steward for the protocol’s ongoing maintenance and development. A portion of the original Farcaster team also joined Neynar to ensure continuity. [3]
Neynar stated its post-acquisition vision was to "enable builders to go from idea to recurring revenue, supported by a builder-first network." The company confirmed there would be no immediate changes to the Farcaster client or protocol and that it would undertake a prioritization exercise to align its product roadmap with the new vision. [3]
Technology and Architecture
Neynar is built as a vertically integrated platform on top of the Farcaster protocol, designed to provide developers with reliable and scalable access to the network. [4]
The Farcaster Protocol
Farcaster is a protocol for building decentralized social applications. Its architecture ensures that all data is open and stored on a distributed network of servers called "hubs." These hubs synchronize data with each other through a "gossip" mechanism. The protocol's core data primitives include:
- FID (Farcaster ID): A unique and permanent numerical identifier assigned to each user on the network.
- Cast: The fundamental unit of information, similar to a post or a tweet. Each cast is a signed message with a unique hash.
- Social Graph: The network of relationships formed as users follow one another. [1]
Neynar's Infrastructure Layer
Neynar operates as a middleware layer that abstracts the complexity of running Farcaster infrastructure. It runs and maintains its own network of high-availability Farcaster hubs and indexing services. This allows developers to read from and write to the Farcaster network through Neynar's stable APIs instead of facing the operational overhead of hosting and synchronizing their own hub. The platform offers indexed databases of Farcaster data, a hosted SQL playground for complex analysis, and real-time data streams via webhooks, enabling a wide range of analytical and application-level functionalities. [4] [1]
Products and Services
Neynar provides a comprehensive suite of tools for developers building on Farcaster, covering data access, user authentication, AI integration, and application development. [1]
Developer APIs and SDKs
The core of Neynar's platform is its robust set of REST APIs that allow for programmatic interaction with the Farcaster network. These APIs facilitate a range of functions:
- Social Data Integration: Endpoints to enrich applications with Farcaster profiles, social graph data, and user relationships.
- Read/Write Operations: Functionality to read casts, feeds, and notifications, as well as to publish casts, reactions (likes and recasts), and follows on behalf of users.
- On-Chain Data: APIs designed to merge social and financial data by accessing token balances and holder information linked to a user's Farcaster ID (FID) or wallet address.
- SDKs and Open Source: To streamline development, Neynar maintains official open-source Software Development Kits (SDKs) for NodeJS/TypeScript, Go, and Rust. The company also publishes an OpenAPI Specification for its APIs and provides example code repositories on its GitHub. [4] [9]
Sign-In with Neynar (SIWN)
Sign-In with Neynar (SIWN) is an open-source authentication solution designed to simplify user onboarding for Farcaster-based applications. SIWN provides a flow that allows applications to request and receive write permissions for a user's Farcaster account. Its key feature is the ability for applications to sponsor the on-chain storage costs required for a user to gain write access. This allows users to connect their Farcaster account and start interacting with an application for free, removing a significant point of friction related to gas fees and initial setup. The system works by creating a "managed signer" for the user, which the application can then use to perform write actions via Neynar's APIs. [5]
AI and Automation
Neynar offers tools for deploying sophisticated AI agents on the Farcaster network.
- Brand Agents: A service for creating and managing AI agents for brand accounts. These agents can be triggered by a mention (e.g.,
@neynar) and can perform a variety of automated, context-aware actions. - Capabilities: Agents can perform on-chain actions like sending tokens, access blockchain and social graph data, connect to private databases, search the web for real-time information, and analyze media like images and videos within casts. [1]
App Studio
The App Studio is a low-code/no-code tool that uses natural language processing to generate and deploy Farcaster "mini-apps" (the interactive applications formerly known as Frames). This feature, referred to as "vibe coding," allows users to describe their desired application in a text prompt, which the studio then builds and deploys. [1]
Developer Tools
- Neynar Explorer: A web-based tool for searching, viewing, and debugging data on the Farcaster network. It allows users to search by keyword, URL, or FID; analyze user relationships; test API calls; and inspect data propagation across network hubs. [10]
create-farcaster-mini-app: An NPX script that quickly scaffolds a new mini-app project, providing a boilerplate for developers to begin building. [9]
Key People and Investors
While specific founders are not prominently listed, the acquisition announcement was co-authored by individuals identified as "Rish" and "Manan," indicating leadership roles at Neynar. [3] Farcaster's original founders, Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan, are noted as angel investors in Neynar. [7]
Neynar is backed by several venture capital firms in the crypto industry. Its $11 million Series A was co-led by Haun Ventures and Union Square Ventures. Other investors include Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Crypto, Paradigm, Coinbase Ventures, Zee Prime Capital, and Hypersphere, among others. Notable angel investors include Balaji Srinivasan, Anatoly Yakovenko, and Linda Xie. [7] [6] [8]
Pricing Model
Neynar operates on a freemium, credit-based pricing model with several tiers designed for different levels of usage. API calls and other services consume credits from a user's monthly allotment.
- Beginner: A free tier that includes 200,000 credits.
- Starter: A paid tier for early-stage projects, including 1 million credits and additional features like webhooks.
- Growth: A mid-level tier with 10 million credits and access to the hosted SQL playground.
- Scale: A high-volume tier with 60 million credits.
- Enterprise: A custom-priced tier offering tailored limits, dedicated managed signers, and premium support. [1]