Celestia and Infinex Secure Major Capital This Week

In this week’s venture capital report, over $253 million was funneled into the crypto startup sector, with the majority going to the blockchain network Celestia Foundation.

Crypto.news explored social media and utilized the latest statistics from Crypto Fundraising to identify that more than a dozen companies secured funding between September 22 and September 28. Here’s a summary:

Celestia Foundation, $100 million

The non-profit organization based in Liechtenstein, recognized for developing Celestia (TIA), successfully raised $100 million from prominent crypto-oriented venture capital firms, spearheaded by Bain Capital Crypto.

Infinex, $65.29 million

Infinex, a decentralized exchange, garnered $65.29 million through a non-fungible token (NFT) sale. Framework Ventures, Solana Ventures, Wintermute, Eden Block, Moonrock Capital, and Bankless VC were among the contributors.

Pencils Protocol, $30 million

Pencils Protocol, an auction platform and yield aggregator on Scroll, raised an additional $30 million. Its strategic investors include DePIN X, Taisu Ventures, Black GM Capital, and Bing Ventures.

Initia, $14 million

Initia secured $14 million in a Series A round, led by Tomasz Tunguz and Spencer Farrar from Theory VC. Delphi Ventures and Hack VC also took part in the round.

Mawari Network, $10.8 million

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Mind Network, $10 million

Mind Network raised $10 million in a pre-A funding round. The investment group included Animoca Brands, Arkstream Capital, Cogitent VC, MH Ventures, Moonhill Capital, SwissBorg, IBC Group, Master VC, among others.

Darkbright, $6 million

Bitkraft Ventures spearheaded an oversubscribed $6 million seed round for Darkbright, the web3 studio creating the Smolbound role-playing game.

Daylight, $6 million

A $6 million seed funding round for crypto platform Daylight was co-led by Union Square Ventures and 1kx Network. The startup is recognized for its transaction recommendation API.

Gunzilla Games, $6 million

Delphi Ventures made a significant investment in Gunzilla Games, marking its largest gaming investment to date. The GUNZ blockchain is a crucial aspect of the studio’s forthcoming Web3 game, “Off The Grid.”

AminoChain, $5 million

AminoChain, a decentralized biobank and Layer 2 network, remained relatively under the radar for the last two years until a16z crypto led a $5 million seed funding round for the startup, bringing the total funding to $7 million. This marks a16z’s initial investment in decentralized science (DeSci).

Funding rounds < $5 million

• Eigenpie: The restaking SubDAO aimed at maximizing earning potential for liquid staking token holders has raised $4 million.
• Meshmap: The open and decentralized platform secured $4 million from a16z, Colosseum, Lattice, Escape Velocity, GSR, and various other institutions.
• Meridian: A consortium of ParaFi Capital, Borderless Capital, Amber Group, Saison Capital, Interop Ventures, and Oak Grove Ventures supported a $4 million raise for the decentralized liquidity marketplace based in Hong Kong.
• Helixlabs: The startup obtained $2 million in a pre-seed funding round from Tribe Capital, EMURGO Ventures, Taureon Capital, LD Capital, and Double Peak Group, with a valuation around $40 million.
• EarthFast: Nascent orchestrated a $1.4 million pre-seed funding round, with additional participation from The General Partnership, Kain Warwick, Roneil Rumburg, and Bodhi Ventures.

For last week’s update, click here.