Connext Labs, a San Francisco-based startup that provides a blockchain interoperability protocol, has secured $7.5 million in strategic funding from a group of investors, valuing the company at $250 million.
The funding round, which brings Connext’s total raised to $23.2 million, was led by Polychain Capital and included NGC Ventures, Polygon Ventures, IOSG Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, KXVC, a_capital, No Limit Holdings, Factor, Dokia Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Ethereal Ventures, 1k(x), #Hashed, and Scalar Capital.
Connext said it will use the new capital to fund the setup and operation of its foundation, which will oversee the development and governance of its protocol.
Connext’s protocol enables developers to build applications that can interact with funds and data across different blockchains, such as Ethereum, Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, and others. The protocol acts as a communication layer on top of existing infrastructure, offering users security and scalability regardless of the chain they are on.
According to Connext, over 1.2 million crosschain transactions have gone through its network since its launch in 2019. The network has seen rapid growth since the release of its V2 version in February 2023, adding over 20,000 new users in the last month and attracting 35 companies to build on top of the protocol, such as Metamask, Planet IX, and DODO.
Arjun Bhuptani, co-founder and CEO of Connext, said: “We are thrilled to have the support of such a diverse and influential group of investors who share our vision of a more open and interoperable blockchain ecosystem.”
He added: “With this funding, we are one step closer to achieving our mission of making it possible for anyone to access any blockchain application from any network.”
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