DoubleZero's 'New Internet' for Blockchains Nabs $400M Valuation from Top Crypto VCs

DoubleZero Foundation Raises $28 Million for Building a New Internet

DoubleZero Foundation, a startup dedicated to enhancing blockchain performance by creating a "new internet," has successfully secured $28 million in funding at a valuation of $400 million. The foundation is currently seeking strategic partners to invest additional funds, aiming for a valuation of $600 million.

Dragonfly and Multicoin Capital are leading the initial funding round, according to sources familiar with the matter. The subsequent strategic round is still ongoing, as stated by an insider. Venture capital firms have shown significant interest in participating in the project.

DoubleZero's vision involves establishing a global network of private fiber optic cables to enable more efficient data transmission for blockchains compared to the public internet. The motto of the project, "Increase bandwidth, Reduce Latency" (IBRL), has gained traction within the Solana community even before the release of DoubleZero's white paper in December.

The project is considered a key technology for Solana's ambitious goal of processing one million transactions per second. DoubleZero is currently granting access to its permissioned testnet to Solana validators and RPCs, with plans to extend to other blockchain networks in the future.

DoubleZero Foundation, led by President Austin Federa, a former head of strategy at Solana Foundation, also includes co-founders Andrew McConnell and Mateo Ward from Malbec Labs. The project has partnered with companies like Jump Crypto, RockawayX, Distributed Global, Latitude, and Teraswitch to expand its network of fiber optic cables.

The use of private fiber optic infrastructure by DoubleZero has drawn parallels to Wall Street's high-speed trading strategies, where firms invested heavily in specialized data transmission lines. Federa highlighted that the project aims to surpass the limitations of the public internet by providing faster and more reliable data transmission for blockchain networks.

Comparing DoubleZero's data pipes to a private car service versus the open internet as an Uber ride, the foundation emphasizes the importance of speed and predictability in data transmission. Federa expressed the community's desire to enhance blockchain capabilities beyond the constraints of the public internet, making DoubleZero a crucial infrastructure project in the crypto space.