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Aptos Labs, a Web3 firm that sprang from Meta Platforms Inc.'s unsuccessful cryptocurrency ventures, has secured $150 million in new funding, according to a business release published on July 25. Jump Crypto and FTX Ventures served as the round's lead investors. Other investors included Apollo, Griffin Gaming Partners, Franklin Templeton, Circle Ventures, Superscrypt, which was funded by Temasek, and ongoing support from a16z and Multicoin. Aptos wants to improve its products. The announcement said:
"This funding comes at a critical time in our industry. At Aptos, we are taking this as an opportunity to build the reliable foundation web3 has been waiting for."
In 2021, Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching, both formerly employed by Meta, co-founded Aptos. The Diem, a cryptocurrency initiative from the social media colossal that failed because of fierce regulatory opposition, was eventually sold. According to the statement, the business now wants to greatly enhance web3's use and sociability while working with its key partners to identify market expectations. In a statement to Bloomberg, Ching stated,
"We are building upgradeable, cutting-edge blockchain solutions that will significantly improve the web3 experience for developers, marketers, and consumers."
Aptos has secured $350 million in fundraising over two rounds, claims Crunchbase. After obtaining $200 million in its previous round, the startup's current investment has increased its valuation, which was above $1 billion in March, according to Bloomberg.
Funding at a Period of Declining VC Interest
Mysten Labs, a second company founded by former Meta workers, is reportedly also raising fresh cash while creating a blockchain that makes use of the Move programming language. The unicorn stated that most of the developers, maintainers, and bright minds behind the "Move language and Move Prover" belong to their team, continuously working to "enhance the language, tools, and resources" that will bring the "simplicity and security of Move" to everyone. However, the announcement of the investments also follows a decline in venture capitalist interest in cryptocurrencies amid the market slump. The longer time it has taken to conclude crypto VC agreements, according to David Nage, venture capital portfolio manager at Arca, has resulted in lower valuations for the cryptocurrency sector.