By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 26th, 2024
While the company has remained discreet about its latest valuation, the infusion of fresh capital underlines investor confidence in Eclipse’s vision and capabilities.
Eclipse Labs, a pioneering force in Layer 2 blockchain development, has recently announced the closure of a $50 million Series A funding round. Co-led by Placeholder and Hack VC, this funding round has propelled Eclipse Labs into the limelight, bringing its total capital raised to $65 million.
Eclipse Empowering Ethereum Layer 2 Development
The primary objective of this funding round is to propel the development of an innovative Ethereum Layer-2 solution leveraging the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM). By harnessing the high performance of the SVM and seamlessly integrating it with Ethereum’s liquidity, Eclipse Labs aims to offer a unique and differentiated Layer 2 solution.
Notable participants in this round include Polychain Capital, Delphi Digital, Maven 11, DBA, and Fenbushi Capital, with strategic contributions from Flow Traders, GSR, Apollo Global Management, and OKX Ventures. While the company has remained discreet about its latest valuation, the infusion of fresh capital underlines investor confidence in Eclipse’s vision and capabilities.
Neel Somani, the founder of Eclipse Labs, commented on the funding stating:
“Eclipse integrates the high-performance SVM with the deep pools of liquidity on Ethereum while maintaining the hard constraint of verifiability.”
Central to Eclipse’s strategy is the creation of a highly composable Ethereum Layer 2 chain. Somani reiterated the importance of scalability and composability, stating:
“Ethereum needs a single, scalable, composable layer-2 capable of handling 99% of use cases.”
The team is steadfast in its commitment to delivering on this vision, targeting the launch of its final mainnet release in the second quarter of this year. Already, Eclipse has rolled out devnet and testnet versions of its protocol, with plans to deploy prominent Decentralized Applications (dApps) upon the mainnet launch, including collaborations with industry leaders like Rarible, Pyth Network, and Solend.
Polygon’s Integration with Eclipse Labs
Meanwhile, in a bid to streamline scalability and optimize blockchain transactions, Polygon (MATIC) has announced a Layer 2 solution for its network in collaboration with Eclipse Labs. This strategic partnership highlights the growing momentum behind Layer 2 solutions within the blockchain ecosystem.
The integration of Eclipse’s technology with Polygon’s ecosystem is expected to enhance interoperability and expand the capabilities of both platforms. With Solana compatibility on the horizon, Polygon is expected to unlock new avenues for innovation and growth.
Today, the market value of Layer 2 chains stands at a staggering $32.6 billion, with Ethereum-based projects comprising over half of this value, according to Coingecko. This valuation reflects the growing demand for scalable and cost-effective solutions within the Ethereum ecosystem.
With the introduction of the Dencun upgrade, scheduled for March 13th, Ethereum is set for a change that promises to reduce gas fees and enhance transaction speeds on L2 protocols. Importantly, the upgrade aims to reduce the costs associated with Layer 2 solutions on Ethereum, such as rollups and sidechains, thereby making blockchain transactions more accessible and affordable for users.
