PQShield clinches $37m, Renzo raises $17m

This week, blockchain startups and various crypto projects collectively raised more than $100 million in venture capital (VC).

Here is a summary of funding activity from June 16 to June 22. The activity reflects growing interest in a variety of blockchain applications, from gaming and social networking to advanced cryptographic security.

PQShield raises $37 million in series B round

Security startup PQShield was this week’s biggest winner. Closed $37 million Series B round to develop post-quantum cryptography solutions.

New investors such as Braavos Capital, Legal & General and Chevron Technology Ventures also took part in the financing round led by Addition.

PQShield’s technology aims to future-proof cryptographic systems against quantum computer-based attacks with major clients such as Nvidia and AMD.

The founder of the company, Dr. Ali El Kaafarani said PQShield will use the new funds to hire more people and facilitate closer working relationships with its partners and customers.

Renzo raises $17 million in series A round

The second-highest funding of the week went to Ethereum (ETH) repurchase protocol Renzo.

It raised $17 million in a Series A round led by Galaxy Ventures and the Brevan Howard Digital Nova Fund. In early January, the platform raised $3.2 million in a seed round led by Maven 11.

Renzo provides users with ezETH, a liquid repurchase token that can be used on decentralized finance (defi) platforms, allowing users to repurchase various Ethereum assets. Data from DefiLlama shows that the company currently has a market cap of approximately $115 million and total value locked at over $3.6 billion.

Particle Network earned $15 million

Particle Network, a modular blockchain developer, also had success this week. The company raised $15 million in a series A round co-led by The Spartan Group and Gumi Cryptos Capital.

As reported by The Block, the round was structured as a simple deal for future tokens and included participation from SevenX Ventures, Flow Traders, and HashKey Capital, among others.

Particle had previously raised $10 million in three financing rounds, bringing the total to $25 million.

We just raised $25 Million in funding to unify all chains and eliminate the complexities of Web3. 🫡

We are proud to announce that our latest funding round, led by investors such as SevenX Ventures, Morningstar, as well as Spartan Capital and Gumi Crypto, has successfully closed at $15 million. pic.twitter.com/MDLJWQjRIP

— Particle Network (@ParticleNtwrk) June 20, 2024

Particle will use the money to support its work on chain abstraction technology and expand its operations, according to company founder Pengyu Wang.

Sonic completes $12 million Series A round

Elsewhere, Sonic, a gaming-focused Solana (SOL) layer-2 network, raised $12 million in a series A round led by Bitkraft Ventures. Other VC firms participating in the round included Galaxy Interactive and Big Brain Holdings.

We’re excited to announce that Sonic, developed by Mirror World, has completed a $12 million Series A financing round led by Microsoft. @BITKRAFTVCWe increased our total capital to 16 million dollars. 🎉

Sonic is the first atomic SVM Layer 2 built to enable standalone game economies. @solana. pic.twitter.com/nBAJghORt0

— Sonic (Odyssey Live Now ⚡️) (@SonicSVM) June 18, 2024

The project has raised a total of $16 million following a $4 million round in 2022, giving it a fully diluted valuation of $100 million.

The funds will support Sonic’s mission to simplify Web3 gaming complexities and integrate with a variety of game genres.

ZKX raised $7.6 million

On June 19, ZKX, a leading social perpetual trading decentralized exchange (DEX), announced that it had raised $7.6 million in total funding, including a recent $6.3 million seed round.

Investors such as Flowdesk, GCR, and DeWhales have backed the initiative, which aims to develop permanent exchanges through social trading features and cross-chain interoperability.

In its announcement, the company stated that it would use the new capital to add new features to the ZKX protocol, including expanding cross-chain interoperability to make social copy trading pools as well as perpetual swaps universally available.

The platform also launched its native ZKX token on three major exchanges: Bitget, Gate.io and KuCoin.

Gudchain completes $5 million investment round

Another gaming-focused project that won big at this week’s crypto VC event was the OP stack-based layer 2 blockchain Gudchain.

It raised $5 million in funding led by Mechanism Capital. Other participants in the round included Manifold, Skyvision Capital and Morningstar Ventures.

Blockchain aims to simplify web3 access for gamers and will form the basis of Highstreet Market products. The platform has also reportedly launched five flagship games and the team plans to launch them on-chain within six months.

Other important financing

Several startups also raised smaller but significant funding rounds during the week:

Zeek raises $3 million seed round: Decentralized social collaboration network raises $3 million from investors including OKX Ventures and Animoca Brands. Wasabi raises $3 million in seed funding: Meme coin and non-fungible token (NFT) leveraged trading protocol raised $3 million led by Electric Capital to boost its Defi offerings. Bitwise, $2.5 million seed investment: Bitwise updated its S-1 form to announce a $2.5 million seed investment for its Ethereum ETF, and Pantera Capital has expressed interest in further investments. Farworld Labs, $1.75 million pre-seed round: The Farcaster-native gaming company closed a $1.75 million pre-seed round to develop its Farcade platform. Ordinox $1 million in pre-seed funding: Cosmos-based automated market maker for BRC20s and Runes receives $1 million led by DACM to support development and security audits.