The Web3 revolution is slowly taking over the internet. The past few years have seen more companies embracing the potential of a decentralized web following the debut of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. Web3 is a new iteration of the Internet that incorporates decentralization based on blockchain technology.
Unlike Web 2.0 where data and content are centralized in the hands of Big Tech companies, Web3 revolves around the idea of decentralization and incorporates the use of blockchain technologies, such as various cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, Web3 is not without its challenges, one of which is infrastructure.
The new Web3 infrastructure has to be built from the ground up, built-in and not just bolted on the existing web2 infrastructure. And that’s where Toronto, Canada-based startup ChainSafe comes in.
The story of ChainSafe started in early 2017 when its founders Aidan, Priom, and Stu met at the Ethereum Developers Meetup Toronto. It started out as an idea to develop cold storage software for holding crypto on a mobile device. Fast forward five years later, ChainSafe has evolved to become the leading multi-chain research and development company with a focus on infrastructure development and web3 gaming.
Today, ChainSafe announced it has raised $18.75 million in a Series A funding round to accelerate the development of web3 infrastructure. The oversubscribed round was led by Round13 with participation from new investors NGC Ventures, HashKey Capital, Sfermion, Jsquare, returning investors Digital Finance Group, and Fenbushi Capital.
In conjunction with the funding round, Khaled Verjee, Managing Partner of Round13’s Digital Asset Fund, is joining ChainSafe’s board of directors alongside founding members and current board member Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and founder of ConsenSys Mesh – a long-time investor and supporter of ChainSafe.
We have been close to ChainSafe since the early days when decentralized protocols were defining themselves and coming into their own. No organization has done a better job of establishing beachheads in important ecosystems and consistently making fundamental contributions. The people of ChainSafe combine integrity and excellence as well as any company in our ecosystem, and no organization has earned trust more broadly among its peers. This Series A raise enables ChainSafe to continue on its rapid growth path of strategic and synergistic protocol and product development,” said Lubin.
One of the company’s flagship products is web3.unity, a software development kit (SDK) for connecting Unity games with blockchain technologies. Web3.unity is designed to reduce complexity and introduce a new level of ownership to gaming. Currently in production with more than 100 teams, the SDK is a catalyst for the rapidly growing blockchain gaming space, which is anticipated to reach US$2.8 billion by 2028. In addition, ChainSafe’s cross-chain bridging solutions have connected major blockchains together including Ethereum, Polygon, and Avalanche, and in turn secured over $600 million in cross-chain token transfers. Designed and released by ChainSafe, these bridges are being used in a new cross-chain interoperability project for which ChainSafe is the leading contributor.
“Since 2017, ChainSafe’s work has been instrumental in developing the web3 ecosystem,” said Verjee. “Their research, development work, and products touch all aspects of today’s blockchain infrastructure. We look forward to having a front-row seat to ChainSafe’s journey as the company brings its architecture to the forefront and makes it accessible to all.”
ChainSafe has also built a reputation as a core protocol developer for Ethereum, Polkadot, Filecoin, and other leading blockchain ecosystems. Given its mission to “onboard the next million web3 developers,” the company’s ambition is clear. With a multi-chain approach, ChainSafe is creating open-source infrastructure and tooling that empowers developers to build the decentralized web. With this investment, ChainSafe will accelerate product development, continue building its team, and fuel the adoption of web3 technology.
“ChainSafe was started with a vision that decentralized technologies could change the world. As time has progressed, the importance of our contributions has become increasingly clear. I am proud of ChainSafe’s impact on the community and, with new partners joining our team, we are looking forward to accelerating the growth of the web3 ecosystem,” said Aidan Hyman, CEO and co-founder of ChainSafe.
Headquartered in Toronto with offices in Berlin and Zagreb, ChainSafe operates globally and has more than 120 employees across 33 countries.
ChainSafe Founders
