# Clerk joins the Netlify Jamstack Innovation Fund

Clerk provides serverless, edge-compatible authentication to over 5,000 Jamstack teams. Today, we're thrilled to join the Netlify [Jamstack Innovation Fund](https://www.netlify.com/jamstack-fund) to further our commitment to the ecosystem.

Netlify has been an inspiration for Clerk since their co-founder, Matt Biilman, [spoke about Jamstack in 2016](https://vimeo.com/163522126). The idea felt like it would change the way we build software, _and indeed it has_.

Clerk leverages Jamstack to set a new standard for developer tools. Instead of only providing a backend SDK, we also offer a frontend SDK with React components and hooks to empower frontend developers.

For example, our [`<SignUp/>` component](https://clerk.com/components/sign-up) embeds a complete, conversion-optimized sign-up flow in our customer's application:

![Clerk Joins Netlify Jamstack Innovation Fund guide illustration](./9507286557ea85867e815093a4f0108edfa4cdf8-720x486.svg)

And for complete customization, frontend developers can instead leverage our [`useSignUp()`](https://clerk.com/docs/reference/clerk-react/usesignup.md) hook to build a UI of their own.

Both `<SignUp/>` and `useSignUp()` are implemented entirely on the frontend, while Clerk's API is responsible for the backend of user and session management. This enables teams to build fully-featured authentication in minutes instead of days or weeks.

We're proud to be recognized as one of the 10 most promising Jamstack startups, and excited for the future as we begin working closely with the Netlify team. Stay tuned!