A16z alumni Web3 startup Bastion closes $25 million seed round

Web3-based Bastion, founded by former leaders of a16z crypto, закрыла a $25 million seed round of financing.

Investors include a16z itself, Laser Digital Ventures, Robot Ventures, Packy McCormick, Not Boring Capital, and others.

Behind the project are former head of information security at a16z crypto Nassim Eddekiuak and CTO Riaz Faizullabhoi. They also spent several years at Meta.

Bastion is intended to simplify the process by which companies deploy blockchain-based technologies and attract new users.

“We see Bastion as the ideal home for consumer brands entering Web3, such as Nike and Starbucks, to create convenient and engaging experiences that resemble Web2,” said Bastion co-founder Nassim Eddekiuak.

The funds will be used to scale operations, hire new staff, and obtain additional licenses to further diversify services.

Bastion’s “intelligent routing” system determines whether transactions are executed on-chain or off-chain, delivering scalability and efficiency for enterprise clients.

“Automatic off-chain routing of interactions makes more transactions free, instant and fully private, ultimately leveraging the best elements of Web2 and Web3 for maximum user convenience,” said project representatives.

Earlier, blockchain startup Layer N raised $5 million in a seed round led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and the decentralized investment group dao5.

In the second quarter, Web3 startups raised around $1.8 billion in venture funding — a figure down 76% from the same period in 2022.