The last round of financing information before the collapse of FTX was exposed, and BlackRock and Google were considering participating

During Thursday's trial, FTX's C1 funding round began in the "late summer and fall" of 2022, according to testimony from former FTX general counsel Can Sun. A form shows 15 potential investors, including BlackRock, Google and Apollo, listed as being "quickly contacted." According to Sun, Apollo was invited to invest in FTX to help solve FTX’s liquidity issues with customer withdrawals. The table also shows that Google and BlackRock’s chances of participating in the funding round were rated as “moderate” and that both firms were conducting due diligence on SBF’s exchange before FTX collapsed on November 11 last year. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has said that the company invested US$240 million in FTX, and Google has never directly invested in SBF's company. The trial also involved other testimony, including from former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison, who has pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the case. She revealed at trial that Bankman-Fried had tried to raise capital by selling shares in FTX. While this is not reflected in the table, she said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman considered buying a stake in FTX but was ultimately unable to reach an agreement. (Decrypt)