A summary of the 7 most noteworthy project financing and participation opportunities in summer
Covering areas such as infrastructure, liquid staking and MEV, DePIN, AI, and L2.Original Title: 《The Best Fundraising Rounds of the Summer》
Author: Stacy Muur
Translation: Shenchao TechFlow
Morpho Labs | Lending
Funding Summary
Total Amount Raised: $69.35 million
Latest Round of Funding: Undisclosed, $50 million
Investors: Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, Fenbushi Capital, a16z, Ribbit Capital, etc.
Introduction
Morpho is considered one of the most significant phenomena in the DeFi space this year, with a current total value locked (TVL) exceeding $1.5 billion. So far, it ranks as the 5th largest lending protocol on DefiLlama.
Morpho is a decentralized, non-custodial lending protocol that allows for the creation of immutable and efficient lending markets in a permissionless manner. It can be seen as a secure lending product marketplace, active on the Ethereum and Base networks.
Early Bird Opportunity
To obtain future $MORPHO tokens, you must participate in the protocol as a supplier or borrower. You can enter Morpho's estimated fully diluted valuation (FDV) in the interface to calculate the additional annual percentage yield (APY) you will receive after the token launch. Therefore, many of the borrowing annual percentage rates (APR) for lending pairs on Morpho are positive.
Website | dApp | X | Documentation | Funding Announcement | CryptoRank Profile
MegaETH | L2
Funding Summary
Total Amount Raised: $20 million
Latest Round of Funding: Seed Round, $20 million
Investors: Dragonfly Capital, Vitalik Buterin, Joseph Lubin, Robot Ventures, etc.
Introduction
MegaETH claims to be the first "real-time blockchain" with full Ethereum compatibility. In this context, "real-time" means that MegaETH processes transactions immediately upon arrival and publishes updates instantaneously.
The concept of MegaETH arises from the limitations of most EVM-compatible blockchains, which typically can only handle hundreds of transactions per second (TPS). In contrast, MegaETH aims to achieve 100,000 TPS.
To achieve this real-time performance, MegaETH leverages Ethereum's security, Optimism's fault-proof system, and its own optimized sorter.
Early Bird Opportunity
Currently, there are no activities for early participants. However, the project is recruiting developers for building, so a testnet release may be coming soon. Stay tuned.
Website | X | CryptoRank Profile
Sentient | AI
Funding Summary
Total Amount Raised: $85 million
Latest Round of Funding: Seed Round, $85 million
Investors: Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Framework Ventures, Robot Ventures, Delphi Ventures, etc.
Introduction
Sentient is a foundation focused on developing an open general artificial intelligence (AGI) platform.
It provides a blockchain protocol for AI product contracts and transactions, a community-built AI innovation repository, and incentives for AI developers. The foundation supports AI projects through community contributions, aiming to align AI advancements with collaborative efforts.
Early Bird Opportunity
The platform has not yet launched and is in the upcoming status. However, you can join the waitlist to become one of the early users and gain access.
Website | X | Funding Announcement | CryptoRank Profile
Daylight Energy | DePIN
Funding Summary
Total Amount Raised: $13.2 million
Latest Round of Funding: Series A, $9 million
Investors: a16z, Framework Ventures, Digital Currency Group, etc.
Introduction
Daylight is a DePIN protocol focused on energy distribution. It utilizes the Base blockchain to integrate energy devices through its application, rewarding users for using green energy.
Daylight offers solar panels, battery storage, heat pumps, and climate services from local professionals, currently available in Texas, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Essentially, it connects consumers with green energy providers and will incentivize their collaboration after the token launch.
Early Bird Opportunity
The Daylight protocol's testnet is now live! If the Daylight app is available in your country (unfortunately, it is not available where I am), you can connect distributed energy devices to the app and start earning rewards.
Website | App | X | Funding Announcement | CryptoRank Profile
Particle Network | Infrastructure
Funding Summary
Total Amount Raised: $25 million
Latest Round of Funding: Series A, $15 million
Investors: Spartan, Hashkey Capital, Morningstar Ventures, Animoca Ventures, etc.
Introduction
Particle Network is a modular chain abstraction infrastructure that provides a seamless experience of "one account, one balance, any chain."
As an L1 solution, Particle Network unifies all chains through universal accounts, addressing the fragmentation of users and liquidity in Web3. Through this system, users can maintain a single account and balance across the ecosystem, eliminating the need for manual bridging or managing assets across multiple chains.
Early Bird Opportunity
The Particle Network mainnet is scheduled to launch in Q3 2024. Meanwhile, users can test its chain abstraction features through Particle Pioneer, which is their testing and community project.
The testnet has already attracted widespread participation, with over 1.3 million registered universal accounts and transaction volumes exceeding 114 million.
Website | X | Funding Announcement | CryptoRank Profile
aPriori | Liquid Staking and MEV
Funding Summary
Total Amount Raised: $10 million
Latest Round of Funding: Seed Round, $8 million
Investors: Pantera Capital, Hashed, Arrington Capital, Consensys, OKX Ventures, Binance Labs, etc.
Introduction
aPriori is an MEV-driven liquid staking platform based on Monad, which repurchases MEV and redistributes the profits to the protocol and ecosystem. It develops transaction-centric infrastructure to enhance Monad's throughput and user experience.
Early Bird Opportunity
The aPriori product has not yet launched, and there are currently no early bird programs. However, the testnet is expected to launch shortly after the latest funding announcement, so it's a good idea to stay tuned.
Website | X | Funding Announcement | CryptoRank Profile
Pi Squared｜Infrastructure
Funding Summary
Total Amount Raised: $12.5 million
Latest Round of Funding: Seed Round, $12.5 million
Investors: Polychain Capital, Robot Ventures, Samsung Next, ABCDE, etc.
Introduction
Pi Squared (Proof of Proof) provides trustless remote computing, AI, and interoperable smart contracts for any blockchain or dApp.
They are developing a universal settlement layer for Pi Squared that ensures end-to-end correctness of general computing while adhering to typical blockchain constraints and minimizing the trust base.
This foundation supports next-generation L2 and application chains, multi-chain bridging, cross-chain DeFi, distributed computing, and more.
Early Bird Opportunity
Like aPriori, there are currently no available incentives or early bird programs. However, the project has significant potential and is definitely worth keeping an eye on.
Website | X | Funding Announcement | CryptoRank Profile
Other Notable Protocols
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Raised $8 million in seed funding, with investors including Hashkey Global, Polychain Capital, etc.
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Raised $7.5 million in strategic funding, with investors including GSR, Flow Traders, ArkStream Capital, etc.
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Raised $18 million in seed funding, with investors including Pantera Capital, Hashkey Capital, Tirana Ventures, etc.
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Raised $8 million in Series A funding, with investors including Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Borderless Capital, etc.
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Raised $35 million in Series A funding, with investors including Galaxy Ventures, GSR, Wintermute, etc.
How to Conduct In-Depth Research (DYOR)?
In this research, I used Messari's funding data. However, there are many other tools that can help analyze funding data and discover new opportunities.
Here is a list of tools I find useful:
