Union Labs, the creator of a hyper-efficient, zero-knowledge interoperability layer, has successfully secured $4 million in seed funding. The funds will be used to develop the first fully trustless bridge connecting appchains, layer 1, and layer 2 networks.
Union Labs plans to expand its team, which includes leaders from Composable Finance, ConsenSys, Tokensoft, and Polygon, in preparation for its upcoming mainnet launch. Notable investors in the round include Lightshift and Chorus One.
The interoperability layer aims to address the increasing need for efficient and secure data transfer and interaction between various blockchains. With over $1.6 billion stolen in bridge hacks in 2022, Union Labs’ infrastructure layer focuses on providing a fully trustless and censorship-resistant solution, enhancing horizontal scalability for the Web3 space.
Union Labs’ consensus engine allows the transfer of any asset natively to any chain, prioritizing efficiency, security, scalability, and interoperability. The solution stands out by not relying on third parties, oracles, multi-signatures, or Multi-Party Computation (MPC). Unlike other bridging solutions, Union does not grant relayers special authority, making private keys less vulnerable to hackers. Instead, messages are verified using zero-knowledge proofs.
Karel Kubat, Founder of Union Labs, emphasized the importance of innovation in protecting assets and fostering the adoption of zero-knowledge technologies for a secure and interoperable cross-chain future. The investment will also support Union’s commitment to providing a user-friendly experience through its high-level API, facilitating integration for developers from various ecosystems.
David Feiock, Founder at Galileo, noted that Union’s ZK bridge architecture represents a pivotal moment for the entire crypto industry, unlocking trust-minimized interoperability between Ethereum and IBC-connected blockchains.
Dan Elitzer, Co-Founder at Nascent, highlighted Union Labs’ efforts in building genuinely new infrastructure that enables improvements to user experience and security, crucial for the next phase of crypto adoption.
The funds will contribute to Union Labs’ mission of developing trustless financial infrastructure and furthering the innovation of secure cross-chain solutions in the blockchain industry.
