Connext, a blockchain interoperability protocol, has closed a strategic fundraising round, raising $7.5 million at a valuation of $250 million. This brings Connext’s total funding to $23.2 million.
- Connext Labs said that it will use the fund to establish and operate the Connext Foundation, which will oversee the protocol’s development and support its long-term growth through grants and community initiatives.
- Connext enables developers to create interchain applications that can be accessed from any network and interact with funds and data across multiple blockchains simultaneously.
- Arjun Bhuptani, Connext founder, said: “In 2020, we realized that the future of web3 was going to look a lot like the internet does today: thousands of independent blockchain networks communicating with one another to create a single interconnected experience. We pivoted our focus towards building this future as a public good. Today, Connext enables a new era of decentralized applications that, similar to applications on the web, can interact with users, data, and funds on many blockchains all at once.”
- The protocol acts as a communication layer on top of existing infrastructure, ensuring robust security regardless of the underlying chain. The aim is to create a single interconnected experience similar to the web, where thousands of independent blockchain networks communicate with each other.
- Since its launch in late February 2023, Connext’s network has experienced rapid growth, with over 20,000 new users joining in the past month and 35 companies actively building on top of the protocol.
- Some notable companies using Connext include Metamask, Planet IX, and DODO. Over 1.2 million crosschain transactions have been processed through Connext’s network to date.
- Connext Labs, the company behind the protocol, has a history of pioneering critical blockchain infrastructure. In 2018, they developed the first payment-focused Layer-2 scalability system on Ethereum, which is used by prominent projects like Metamask and The Graph. In 2019, Connext helped create one of the first widely adopted decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) frameworks called MolochDAO, which has served as a model for hundreds of DAOs governing millions of dollars.
- Joseph Lubin, Chairman at Ethereal Ventures and ConsenSys Mesh, expressed confidence in Connext’s vision, emphasizing its potential to revolutionize Web3 application development and address security challenges across different blockchain networks.
- The Connext protocol aims to create an interconnected future for all blockchain networks.
- Notable participants in the latest funding round include Polychain Capital, NGC Ventures, Polygon Ventures, IOSG Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, and Coinbase Ventures.
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