Compiled by: Golden Finance

This week, 21 blockchain startups raised $272.2 million in funding. Eight projects received pre-seed and seed rounds, and 13 projects received other rounds of funding.

This week’s largest funding rounds

The biggest funding round of the week

1.Celestia

Celestia raised $100 million in a funding round from Bain Capital Crypto*, 1kx, Robot Ventures, and Placeholder.

Celestia is a stripped-down layer 1 blockchain focused on ordering transactions and providing transaction data. The blockchain does not handle smart contracts or perform computations. Instead, these functions are outsourced to rollups or other blockchains in the Celestia model, which is a core component of its flexible, modular design.

Pre-seed and seed investments

Pre-seed and seed investments

2.Mawari Network

Mawari Network raised $10.8 million in seed funding from Anfield LTD*, Borderless Capital*, 1kx*, Accord Ventures, Blockchange Ventures, Draper Dragon, iAngels Capital, Mulana Capital, Parami Capital, Samsung Next, and Ivan Brightly.

Mawari Network is a metaverse content delivery system and Web3 project that breaks the bottleneck of metaverse content delivery to mobile devices. It is a distributed, revenue-sharing content delivery and rendering network powered by existing, underutilized computing and network resources. It supports blockchain and can programmatically scale and manage quality of service.

3.Darkbright (Smolbound) 

Darkbright (Smolbound) raised $6M in seed funding from BITKRAFT Ventures*, Play Ventures, Anthos Capital, King River Capital, RockawayX, Zentry, Caballeros Capital, Gam3Girl Ventures, Offchain Labs, Treasure.

Darkbright Studios is a Web3 game development company focused on creating immersive life simulation RPGs. Their first game, Smolbound, combines fantasy and farming with Web3 technology to give players ownership of in-game assets. The game features user-generated content, real-time operations, and player ownership, blending elements of Animal Crossing and Raft for a unique gaming experience.

4.Daylight 

Daylight raised $6 million in seed funding from investors including Union Square Ventures (USV)*, 1kx*, Framework Ventures, Chapter One, Vadim Koleoshkin, Nir Kabessa, and Shreyas Hariharan.

Daylight is a transaction engine that helps users discover meaningful, personalized blockchain transactions by integrating with wallets and applications. Its API connects tools, protocols, and creators with users, allowing them to distribute mints, claims, tasks, and other transactions. Daylight ensures that relevant transactions reach the right audience, driving engagement and optimizing the user experience. By partnering with trusted platforms, Daylight aims to simplify blockchain interactions and expand participation in decentralized finance.

5.AminoChain 

AminoChain raised $5 million in seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto)*.

AminoChain is a decentralized biospecimen marketplace that connects biobanks and clinical sites with biopharmaceutical companies. By leveraging blockchain technology, AminoChain provides a secure, transparent platform for the exchange and management of biospecimens. This innovative solution enables clinical and pharmaceutical stakeholders to access, trade, and use critical biospecimens while maintaining high standards of privacy, compliance, and traceability. The platform aims to streamline biospecimen procurement and ensure efficiency and accountability in the biopharmaceutical R&D process.

6.Meridian

Meridian raised $4 million in seed funding from ParaFi Capital*, Borderless Capital*, Amber Group, Saison Capital, Interop Ventures, Oak Grove Ventures, Serafund, and DCF God.

Meridian is a decentralized liquidity market and liquidity staking protocol built on Movement. It acts as the native liquidity layer for the Movement ecosystem, allowing users to securely trade and stake assets while earning rewards. Powered by Move, Meridian provides financial primitives that enable high-velocity capital flows and support DeFi activity across the ecosystem. As a key component of Movement Labs, Meridian aims to drive liquidity, improve staking options, and increase the overall efficiency of blockchain networks.

7.Helix Labs

Helix Labs raised $2 million in pre-seed funding from Tribe Capital*, Emurgo Ventures, Double Peak Group, Taureon, and LD Capital.

Helix Labs is a rehypothecation liquidity protocol that improves yield opportunities for non-Ethereum layer 1 asset holders. By leveraging liquidity abstraction and OmniVM technology, Helix Labs supports future MoveVM rollups and improves token utility. The protocol expands EigenFi capacity and provides liquidity-as-a-service, bringing more liquidity to the DeFi ecosystem.

8.EarthFast

EarthFast (formerly Armada Network) raised $1.4 million in pre-seed funding from The General Partnership*, Nascent*, Bodhi Ventures, Kain Warwick, and Roneil Rumburg.

EarthFast is a decentralized infrastructure protocol that aims to shift the responsibility for updating, deploying, and hosting frontends from centralized services to a community of voters. Initially launched in 2022 as Armada Network, it allows projects to build and host decentralized applications (dApps) with scalability, security, and efficiency. EarthFast's first product is a decentralized frontend hosting solution that uses a secure enclave architecture to provide Web2-like availability and performance with the decentralized guarantees of Web3. The protocol enables governance entities such as DAOs to manage frontend updates and deployments.

9.Zulu Network 

Zulu Network raised an undisclosed amount in its seed round from Draper Dragon, Cryptogram Venture (CGV), Web3com Ventures, Panony, D11-Labs, and Splinter Node Capital.

Zulu Network is a two-layer architecture that expands network functionality and facilitates cross-chain interoperability. The first layer, ZuluPrime, acts as Bitcoin Layer 2, prioritizing EVM compatibility to provide stable DeFi applications and financial services. The second layer, ZuluNexus, acts as Bitcoin Layer 3, supporting UTXO and account types, enabling developers to explore innovative possibilities while retaining Bitcoin's core functionality.

Other investment rounds

10.Infinex

Infinex raised $65.3 million in a funding round from investors including Wintermute, Framework Ventures, Moonrock Capital, Bodhi Ventures, Wormhole, Breyer Capital, Everest Ventures Group (EVG), Synthetix, Solana Ventures, Near Foundation, Eden Block, Larry Cermak, Reinventure, BlueYard Capital, Bankless Ventures, Cyber ​​Fund, Infinite Capital, Stani Kulechov, Anatoly Yakovenko, and Variant Fund.

Infinex is a secure, user-friendly platform designed to simplify access to decentralized finance (DeFi) and on-chain protocols. By combining support for multiple blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon, it eliminates the need for multiple wallets, seed phrases, and gas fees. Infinex launches an intuitive cross-chain wallet and non-custodial account protected by keys and biometrics. Users can explore opportunities to stake, trade, and earn rewards while benefiting from Infinex's unique DeFi products and protocols. Its mission is to bridge the gap between centralized finance and DeFi and make cryptocurrency accessible to everyone.

11.Pencils Protocol (PenPad) 

Pencils Protocol (PenPad) raised $30 million in a public sale funding round.

Pencils Protocol is an innovative auction platform and yield aggregator on Scroll. By integrating zero-knowledge rollups, proof-of-humanity logins, and on-chain verifiable randomness, Pencils Protocol provides a fair launchpad, offers developers a comprehensive toolkit of Zk solutions, and leverages Scroll’s native capabilities for enhanced functionality and security.

12. India 

Initia raised $14 million in Series A funding from investors including Theory VC*, Delphi Ventures, Hack VC, Keone Hon, Bryan Pellegrino, Jordi Alexander, and Michael Egorov.

Initia is a network that combines Layer 1 (L1) technology with application-specific Layer 2 (L2) infrastructure to create scalable and interconnected blockchains. By fusing L1 with L2, Initia simplifies the process for developers to launch application-specific blockchains in the form of L2, providing native stablecoins, multi-chain bridging and other functions. Initia's architecture abstracts the complexity of traditional modular and multi-chain systems, making it easier for developers to create scalable and sovereign blockchain systems.

13.Mind Network

Mind Network raised $10 million in a Series A round from investors including Animoca Brands, ArkStream Capital, Cogitent Ventures, G Ventures, MH Ventures, Master Ventures, Moonhill Capital, Swissborg Ventures, IBC Group, Mario Nawfal and MrBlock.

Mind Network is a decentralized platform that leverages adaptive fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) to protect user data, smart contracts, and AI on Web3. It provides a zero-trust data lake that provides secure storage, computing, and access control through end-to-end encryption, making it easy to use and enhancing data security in the Web3 ecosystem.

14.Gunzilla Games

Gunzilla Games has raised $6 million in a funding round from Delphi Ventures.

Gunzilla Games is a game development studio known for its multiplayer innovations. They are developing Off The Grid, a cyberpunk battle royale 2.0 game set in a dystopian future. Gunzilla Games empowers players through its GunZ platform, which grants players ownership of in-game property and uses blockchain technology to enable in-game item trading.

15.MeshMap

MeshMap raised $4 million in a funding round from investors including a16z Crypto Startup Accelerator (CSX), GSR Markets LTD, Lattice Fund, Colosseum, Escape Velocity, Anatoly Yakovenko, and Balaji Srinivasan.

MeshMap is an open and decentralized platform focused on creating 3D world maps. It leverages crowdsourcing and blockchain technology to enable applications such as gaming, navigation, immersive experiences, and estate planning. Users can contribute by mapping, scanning, and geotagging locations, and are rewarded through on-chain incentives. The platform also supports gaming use cases such as the augmented reality (AR) game City Champ. MeshMap aims to build a comprehensive representation of the virtual world while rewarding contributors and players for their participation.

16.Ownpie

Eigenpie raised $4 million in a public sale funding round.

Eigenpie is a re-staking SubDAO designed to maximize the profit potential of Liquid Staked Token (LST) holders. By allowing users to re-stake assets on its platform, Eigenpie provides a liquid re-staking version for each accepted LST, effectively isolating the risks associated with specific tokens. This modular approach provides users with a safe and effective way to increase returns while reducing risk and maintaining asset flexibility.

17. India 

Initia raised $2.5 million in a private funding round from The Echonomist.

Initia is a network that combines Layer 1 (L1) technology with application-specific Layer 2 (L2) infrastructure to create scalable and interconnected blockchains. By fusing L1 with L2, Initia simplifies the process for developers to launch application-specific blockchains in the form of L2, providing native stablecoins, multi-chain bridging and other functions. Initia's architecture abstracts the complexity of traditional modular and multi-chain systems, making it easier for developers to create scalable and sovereign blockchain systems.

18.Swan Chain

Swan Chain (formerly FilSwan) has raised $870,000 in a funding round from the Optimism Foundation.

Launched in 2021, SwanChain (formerly FilSwan) is a decentralized infrastructure designed to accelerate AI applications. Leveraging OP Stack’s Ethereum Layer 2 technology, SwanChain combines Web3 with AI to provide a comprehensive solution covering storage, computing, bandwidth and payments. By leveraging underutilized computing power in a network of community data centers, SwanChain can significantly reduce computing costs by up to 70% while monetizing idle computing assets. With an innovative marketplace for decentralized storage, AI and zero-knowledge proofs, and efficient deployment of AI models through LagrangeDAO, SwanChain aims to make AI development seamless and affordable for everyone.

19.Earn Alliance

Earn Alliance raised $350,000 in a public sale funding round.

Earn Alliance is the largest web3 game aggregator and discovery platform, connecting over 500,000 users to thousands of blockchain games. It provides game updates, NFT minting, reviews, and in-game assets, allowing seamless interaction with the web3 gaming marketplace. With over 2,500 integrated social and content sources, the platform has helped major games like BigTime and Gods Unchained achieve significant user growth. Earn Alliance aims to positively change gaming by making it easy for users to explore and participate in web3 games.

20.Coin Meester BV (BCM) 

Coin Meester BV (BCM) has raised an undisclosed amount in an acquisition funding round at Kraken.

Coin Meester BV (BCM) is a cryptocurrency broker based in the Netherlands that offers buying, selling, and staking services for over 170 cryptocurrencies. BCM prioritizes security and holds client funds 1:1 in a separate foundation registered with the Dutch National Bank (DNB). BCM also provides localized customer support to ensure a smooth experience for Dutch users.

21.Privasea 

Privasea raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round from Oasis Labs.

Privasea AI Network is a solution to the challenges of data privacy in artificial intelligence. It combines fully homomorphic encryption with blockchain-based incentives to revolutionize machine learning reasoning, enhance privacy, and promote collaborative AI computing, while ensuring that users get a secure and private AI computing experience.