Axelar, the universal decentralized interoperability network connecting all blockchain ecosystems, applications, and assets has today announced the closure of a $35 million USD funding round, with investments from Dragonfly Capital, Polychain Capital, North Island Ventures, Rockaway Blockchain Fund, Cygni Capital, Lemniscap, Olive Tree Capital, Blockchange Ventures, Node Capital, angel investors including Waikit Lau and Gokul Rajaram, and others.This latest Series B funding round has brought Axelar’s valuation to $1 billion USD.

The funding will be used to support Axelar’s expansion as it continues to roll-out its mainnet, and follows on from the company’s previous $25m Series A raise in mid-2021.Sergey Gorbunov, CEO and Co-founder of Axelar, said: “With the latest round of funding, we will continue to grow Axelar and its network, while laying down the crucial foundations for Web3. Lack of scalable interoperability is the blockchain industry’s biggest obstacle to date, preventing mainstream adoption.

It’s great to see the support from our existing and new investors that see Axelar network as the core infrastructure stack that will accelerate the growth of the entire ecosystem.”Since beginning its phased mainnet roll-out in late January, Axelar has started onboarding validators, wallet integrations, and setup of monitoring tools, and relay infrastructure. In addition, it is launching Satellite (Beta), one of the early dApps built on top of the Axelar network, which enables users to transfer assets between a range of blockchain networks including Ethereum, Terra, Avalanche, and Moonbeam.

Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder and CEO of Polychain Capital, said: "While Web3 continues to grow, connecting users and providing frictionless experiences across multiple blockchains is critical. Axelar's interoperability stack is uniquely positioned to connect blockchains and decentralized applications in the ecosystem. It empowers developers to make the best decisions on where to host their applications while unlocking access to distribution and liquidity with the entire space. The team is making amazing progress on this journey, and we're glad to continue supporting them."Axelar’s partnership network is evolving rapidly, with integrations from Polygon, Polkadot, Cosmos, and Pangolin Exchange having all gone live.

These integrations come ahead of the launch of the Axelar SDK, which will enable developers to build powerful cross-chain enabled dApps powered by the Axelar overlay network.This gives developers access to every other blockchain ecosystem and asset connected to the Axelar network.

Dusan Kovacic, CIO of Rockaway Blockchain Fund, said: "In Web 3, we are going to witness a shift towards native multichain applications, where a user interacts with assets across many chains from the comfort of a single interface. Axelar is the cornerstone for such applications to operate as it connects the currently siloed networks in a scalable and secure way. Axelar serves as a highway between blockchains and ultimately will be a one-stop platform abstracting the complexity of inter-blockchain communication into a simple SDK. As investors, we’re pleased to support Axelar in its journey to advance the industry."

About Axelar Axelar is building a decentralized network and tools that connect users, assets, and dApp across multiple blockchain ecosystems. The network empowers developers to build on the best platform for their needs while leveraging the Axelar stack to unlock cross-chain composability and liquidity. Axelar Network consists of a protocol suite, tools, and APIs, designed to break down the barriers to cross-chain communication. Powered by a decentralized open network of validators, anyone can join the network, use it and build on it. The Axelar Network provides a uniform solution to cross-chain communication, allowing dApps to integrate with the full blockchain ecosystem. Developed by the founding team members of Algorand, Axelar’s co-founders are award-winning graduates of MIT, where they received notable recognition as part of their graduate studies. Follow Axelar on Twitter at @axelarcore, or LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/axelar/about/.

For Media Enquiries Kelly Earley kelly.earley@wachsman.com +353 87 232 1670