LayerZero raises $120M in Series B, Valued at $3B, Expanding Web3 Messaging Protocol.
LayerZero Labs, a web3 messaging protocol, has announced that it has raised $120 million in Series B funding, raising its valuation to $3 billion from $1 billion. The company, which connects over 30 mainnet blockchains, including two non-Ethereum Virtual Machines (EVMs), Aptos and Solana, has developed a messaging protocol that enables users to send different types of messages between blockchains, like cross-chain interactions, eliminating the need for intermediaries.
Unlike Web 2.0 messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram, LayerZero's messaging protocol is designed for the Web3 ecosystem, enabling decentralized exchanges to communicate. It is used by on-chain applications like decentralized exchanges, including PancakeSwap, Sushiswap, Trader Joe, and Uniswap. The platform has secured over $7 billion in total value locked and processed over $6 billion in transactional volume since its launch about a year ago.
LayerZero's messaging protocol is changing how messages are sent between blockchains, eliminating the need for intermediaries and enabling decentralized exchanges to communicate. With its recent funding, LayerZero is set to expand into gaming and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market, further increasing its influence and reach in the Web3 ecosystem. As LayerZero continues to build the infrastructure that allows developers to create the best systems they can, it is likely to play a crucial role in shaping the future of Web3 messaging.
CEO and co-founder Bryan Pellegrino stated that the funding was raised for strategic alignment and that the company did not need the money. In the long term, Pellegrino hopes that LayerZero's messaging protocol, and others like it, will continue to create the infrastructure that allows applications to build more complex structures. "Our job is to build the primitive that allows developers to create the best systems they can, whether it's games, DeFi applications or something else," he said.
The funding will expand LayerZero into gaming and the APAC market. "If we want to be that layer that connects everything, gaming plays a huge role," Pellegrino said. The protocol has already attracted major investors like a16z crypto, Circle Ventures, Sequoia Capital, OpenSea, Samsung Next, Christie's, and BOND, who participated in the Series B round.
The messaging protocol's usage is also rapidly growing. It took the protocol about 7.5 months to hit 1 million messages and then 2.5 months to hit the next million messages. "By the end of this year, I'm extremely confident that we'll have single months, if not single weeks, where there are a million messages," Pellegrino said.
LayerZero's messaging protocol can transform how messages are sent in the Web3 ecosystem. As the protocol continues to develop and expand into new markets, it will likely become a crucial part of the infrastructure that enables developers to create the best systems. The funding that LayerZero has received will enable it to continue to develop its protocol, expand into new markets and reach new users. With its impressive track record, LayerZero is poised to become one of the most important players in the Web3 ecosystem.
