Tag: altlayer

Binance Labs Invests in AltLayer, KiloEx, Kinza, and Sleepless AI as Part of the MVB Program

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, has announced its investment in four top-performing projects from the sixth season of its Most Valuable Builder (MVB) program. The announcement was made on Binance’s official blog, and the investment is aimed at growing the BNB Chain ecosystem.

The four projects selected for investment are:

1. AltLayer: An open and decentralized protocol for developers to launch application-tailored rollups. It offers a no-code Rollups-as-a-Service dashboard that allows customized rollups with fraud/zk proofs at speed.

2. KiloEx: Building the next generation of user-friendly perpetual DEX focused on risk management and capital efficiency. It offers lightning-fast trades and an intuitive trading experience.

3. Kinza: A robust lending protocol that focuses on security and aims to create the best on-chain money market. It features Real Yield that employs a dynamic interest rate curve, generating revenue from interest for the protocol and lenders.

4. Sleepless AI: An AI blockchain-based virtual companion game utilizing AIGC and LLMs to create rich story-based gameplay and evolving interactions with characters.

These projects are building across various sectors including DeFi, infrastructure, and Web3 gaming.

Yi He, Co-Founder of Binance and Head of Binance Labs, commented on the investment, stating: “At Binance Labs, our vision is to empower and back early-stage founders who are committed to building long-term innovative projects. Through the MVB Program, we identified four high-performing projects for investment across various sectors. We look forward to seeing these projects’ continued growth and positive contribution to the wider Web3 ecosystem.”

The sixth season of the MVB Program concluded in June 2023. It received over 1,400 applications, with 53% of applicants based in North America and Europe, and 36% based in APAC. The program’s highly selective process admitted less than 1% of the total applicant pool.

Since 2018, Binance Labs has invested in more than 200 projects across six continents with $9 billion in total assets and a 1260% rate of return on investment. It has also incubated more than 50 projects native to Web3, including Polygon, Perpetual Protocol, and Dune Analytics.

BNB Chain is a decentralized blockchain powered by BNB. It has processed 3 billion transactions to date from 200 million unique addresses. The ecosystem has more than 1,400 active dApps across multiple categories, such as DeFi, Metaverse, blockchain games, NFT, and more.

The investment in these four projects by Binance Labs signifies a strong commitment to supporting innovation and meaningful use cases within the Web3 industry. It also reflects Binance Labs’ dedication to incubating and supporting high-potential projects that contribute to the sustainability and scalability of the Web3 ecosystem. Applications for the new season of the Binance Labs Incubation Program are open until August 15th, 2023.

Binance Labs Invests in AltLayer, a Leading Decentralized Rollups-as-a-Service Provider

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, has announced a strategic investment in AltLayer, a leading decentralized Rollups-as-a-Service (RaaS) provider for Web3 applications, as of August 9, 2023.

Investment Details and AltLayer’s Vision

The investment aims to support AltLayer’s innovative approach to facilitating the launch of application-tailored rollups via its core network called the Beacon Layer. Nicola W., Investment Director at Binance Labs, stated, “Application-tailored rollups offer the security of Layer 1s and the customizability of appchains. However, a common issue with rollups today is that they mostly operate with centralized sequencers and create fragmented liquidity and userbase. We found AltLayer’s approach to facilitating the launch of application-tailored rollups via Beacon Layer an inspired take.”

Rollups are a Layer 2 scaling solution that bundles up transaction data and transfers it off the main chain (or Layer 1 blockchain). Transaction execution is performed off-chain, while assets are held in an on-chain smart contract. The transaction data is sent back to the main blockchain upon completion. Rollups increase transaction efficiency in terms of throughput, allowing a blockchain to process more transactions within a certain timeframe. There are two types of rollups: optimistic rollups, which use a fraud-proving scheme, and zero-knowledge rollups (zk-rollups), which use zero-knowledge proofs to validate transactions. Both types aim to enable high throughput and lower costs.

Optimistic Rollups are implemented by projects like Optimism ($OP) and Arbitrum ($ARB), focusing on increasing Ethereum’s transaction throughput using fraud-proving schemes. Zero-Knowledge Rollups (zk-Rollups) are used by zkSync, StarkWare, and Hermes Network to enhance scalability and privacy through zero-knowledge proofs.

AltLayer’s protocol is designed for a multi-chain and multi-VM world, with default support for EVM/WASM. It functions as a modular and pluggable scaling solution for all compatible chains. The company offers a no-code Rollups-as-a-Service launchpad that enables users to create a customized rollup within 2 minutes.

AltLayer’s Collaboration and Products

AltLayer has collaborated with industry leaders like EigenLayer, Espresso, Celestia, Double Jump, Arbitrum, Linea, and Jump to build on rollup usability. The company’s Rollup-as-a-Service (RaaS) solution provider offers products that fast-track the deployment of highly scalable decentralized applications. Most recently, AltLayer launched a no-code dashboard that enables users to spin up a customized rollup within 2 minutes.

Dr. Yaoqi Jia, CEO, AltLayer, expressed optimism about the investment, saying, “The rollup ecosystem is promising, and needs more eyes on it to flourish and expand. We’re honored to have the strategic investment from Binance Labs, and look forward to strengthening the rollup world with their support.”

About Binance Labs

Binance Labs, as the venture capital arm and accelerator of Binance, has grown to be worth over $9 billion. Its portfolio covers 200 projects from over 25 countries across six continents, with a return on investment rate of over 10X. Fifty of Binance Labs’ portfolio companies are projects that have gone through their incubation programs.

Binance Labs has been actively investing in various projects despite regulatory pressures and pessimistic market expectations.

On August 8, 2023, Web3 startup zkPass raised $2.5 million in a seed round, with Binance Labs leading the investment, alongside OKX and other participants.

On August 4, 2023, Binance Labs announced investments in AltLayer, KiloEx, Kinza, and Sleepless AI as part of their MVB (Most Valuable Builder) Program.

Additionally, on July 20, 2023, Binance Labs has invested $10 million in DeFi lender Radiant (RDNT), a protocol operating on the Arbitrum network.

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