Key Points
Layer, a startup focusing on blockchain infrastructure, has secured $6 million in a seed funding round.
The round was led by 1kx and saw contributions from Fabric Ventures, Arrington Capital, and Stake Capital Group.
In a press release, the firm revealed its plans to use this funding to enhance Ethereum‘s capabilities.
They aim to create developer tools that support full-stack decentralized applications using Web Assembly.
Layer’s Vision and Team
The company was founded by blockchain veterans Sam Cassatt, Jake Hartnell, and Ethan Frey.
The team anticipates that Layer’s platform will allow developers to build more complex decentralized applications.
These applications will rely on off-chain computation, addressing the limitations of current smart contracts.
The Layer SDK is expected to enable applications to combine blockchain security with off-chain services like AI agents and decentralized messaging servers.
Sam Cassatt, co-founder of Layer, expressed the team’s desire to complete the full narrative arc of decentralized architecture.
The funding round also received support from angel investors.
These included Sreeram Kannan of EigenLayer, Mike Silagadze of Ether.fi, and former BlackRock executive Paul Taylor.
The team plans to launch a product known as the “Layer SDK”.
This will enable developers to build new layers on top of Ethereum.
These layers will run full-stack blockchain-based applications consisting of smart contracts, consensus mechanisms, UI, and verifiable off-chain services.
The funding comes at a time when concerns over hidden vulnerabilities in smart contracts are growing.
Bad actors are increasingly exploiting these vulnerabilities.
In late September, Trugard Labs identified over 34,000 high-risk vulnerabilities in smart contracts rolled out on Base during August.
Hidden balance updates and minting manipulations were also detected across Ethereum and BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain, BSC), though in smaller numbers.