Connext Labs, a blockchain interoperability protocol, has successfully concluded a strategic fundraising round, securing $7.5 million at a valuation of $250 million. The latest funding round brings Connext’s total funding to $23.2 million and will be used to establish and operate the Connext Foundation. The foundation will play a crucial role in supporting the development of the Connext protocol and promoting the long-term growth of the ecosystem through development grants and community-led initiatives.
Prominent investors participating in the strategic round include Polychain Capital, NGC Ventures, Polygon Ventures, IOSG Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, KXVC, a_capital, No Limit Holdings, Factor, and Dokia Capital. Existing investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Ethereal Ventures, 1k(x), #Hashed, and Scalar Capital also contributed to the funding.
Connext’s protocol enables developers to create interchain applications that can be accessed and interact with funds and data on various blockchains simultaneously. Similar to how HTTP facilitated the interconnected web, Connext acts as a communication layer on top of existing blockchain infrastructure, ensuring security regardless of the underlying chain.
Founder Arjun Bhuptani explained that Connext recognized the future of Web3 as a network of interconnected blockchain networks. The protocol enables decentralized applications to interact with users, data, and funds across multiple blockchains simultaneously, much like web applications do on the internet.
Since its V2 launch in February 2023, Connext has experienced significant growth, processing over 1.2 million crosschain transactions. The network has attracted over 20,000 new users in the past month, with 35 companies actively building on the protocol, including notable projects such as Metamask, Planet IX, and DODO.
Connext Labs has a history of pioneering critical blockchain infrastructure. In 2018, the company developed the first payment-focused Layer-2 scalability system on Ethereum, utilized by projects like Metamask and The Graph. In 2019, Connext contributed to the creation of MolochDAO, one of the first widely adopted DAO frameworks, which has since been used by numerous decentralized autonomous organizations governing substantial amounts of value.
