Fundraising News AltLayer, Exabits, & More!
The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator is an internationally recognized, non-dilutive source of support for startups in the global blockchain ecosystem and now leads our 3rd pillar on community & entrepreneurship for the Berkeley Center for Responsible, Decentralized Intelligence (RDI).
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More Successful Fundraising News for Xcelerator Teams!
AltLayer Announces New Funding Led by Polychain & HackVC
AltLayer.io, from our 2023 cohort, a platform focusing on blockchain scalability through rollups, has secured $14.4 million in a strategic funding round. Co-led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC, the round aims to bolster the team and advance rollup infrastructure. Participants include OKX Ventures, HashKey Capital, and Bankless Ventures, among others.
AltLayer plans to enhance blockchain scalability and interoperability, aiming to bring restaked rollups’ capabilities to life in 2024 and beyond. AltLayer has also emphasized its commitment to building and enriching its entire ecosystem.
Find more information here and here.
Protocol Labs & Big Brain Lead Oversubscribed Pre-Seed Round for Exabits.ai
From our current 2024 cohort, Exabits.ai, a trailblazer in decentralized cloud computing tailored for artificial intelligence (AI), has achieved a significant milestone by successfully concluding their oversubscribed pre-seed fundraising round. This accomplishment underscores the industry’s confidence in Exabits’ ability to provide great value to both their customers and their partners.
A recent case study has revealed that one customer previously spending $150k per month at a compute cloud provider achieved a 71% reduction in costs and a 30% increase in training speed after switching to Exabits. Exabits revenue has surged over the past 6 months growing an average of 300% every month highlighting the rapid growth and market demand.
This new injection of capital will empower the company to accelerate its research and development initiatives, driving innovation in the decentralized AI computing space.
Read this article for more information.
Alumni Spotlights on Significant Milestones!
Astar zkEVM
Establishing itself as the gateway for global projects across enterprises, entertainment and gaming, Astar Network boasts a robust presence in Japan. Astar, from our 2020 cohort, champions community engagement, both online and offline, with a clear long-term vision to connect people to web3 and a mission to create new opportunities to use blockchain.
They proudly unveil Astar zkEVM, marking a significant milestone in their journey. Guided by these core values and technology solutions in Polygon and Polkadot, the Astar zkEVM equips developers with the tools necessary to craft a more inclusive and empowered future web.
Learn more about Astar here.
Manta Network Reaches a TVL of $845M
Manta Pacific, the Layer 2 solution of Manta Network from our 2021 cohort, has surpassed Coinbase’s Base to claim the fourth position in scaling solutions, per L2Beat data. With a total value locked (TVL) of $845 million, Manta Pacific leads Base’s $753 million. This metric reflects the notional value of tokens deposited in decentralized finance protocols, indicating Manta’s rising popularity.
Transitioning to a zero-knowledge rollup last year, Manta Pacific leverages zero-knowledge proofs for swift transaction settlement, aligning with a key blockchain trend. Manta’s paradigm bridging program, launched in December, further fueled growth by rewarding users for bridging assets like ETH and USDC. Supported by Binance Launchpool, Manta’s trajectory signifies its ascent in the blockchain realm.
Read more here.
Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator Newsletter
February 22, 2024
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