Startup Layer aims to extend the functionality of Ethereum by making the first developer tools that support full-stack decentralized applications with Web Assembly, and they have $6 million to make it happen.
The company has raised a $6M seed round led by 1kx, with participation from Fabric Ventures, Arrington Capital, and IOBC. Angel investors include Sreeram Kannan of EigenLayer, Rok Kopp and Mike Silagadze of Ether.fi, and Paul Taylor, formerly of BlackRock.
Typically, smart contracts are small programs specially packaged to be run by trustworthy “validators” on the blockchain. However, to power major software products, like web platforms, smartphone apps, and AI models, Layer said smart contracts need to run thousands of lines of software at speeds you would find on a personal device. While many teams are optimizing the performance of blockchains like Ethereum, Layer believes smart contracts alone are not capable of meeting the high computational demand of many applications.
Layer utilizes Web Assembly, which allows developers to write applications in languages like rust, that can run anywhere – even on an iPhone. Layer’s upcoming product, “Layer SDK”, allows developers to build new layers on top of Ethereum that run full-stack blockchain-based applications consisting of smart contracts, consensus mechanisms, UI, and verifiable off-chain services (AI agents, ZK provers, serverless functions, decentralized messaging servers, and more).
That means a software developer can launch sovereign, incorruptible versions of their software products without any sacrifice to the user experience.
“While smart contracts have given us a foundational layer of trust, they aren’t enough to support a full decentralized version of the Internet,” said Sam Cassatt, co-founder of Layer. “We wanted to complete the full narrative arc of decentralized architecture, and give the world the tools necessary to build any application, with any performance requirements in this trust-minimized way.”
Layer believes this original ideal, espoused by blockchain’s true believers, will soon be seen as an essential solution to existential threats in our digital world. The company believes the only way to verify the software and data you interact with online has not been manipulated by its creator, its host, a cybercriminal, an AI model, the government, or any other powerful actor would be with a protocol that guarantees trust.
“We at Fabric have long been excited to back teams expanding the boundaries of what is possible in crypto and Lay3r are doing exactly that,” Fabric Ventures’ managing partner Richard Muirhead added. “By defining a new category of shared economic security that spans hybrid off-chain and on-chain worlds, we believe Lay3r can be a Schelling point for new teams looking to build applications taking advantage of these core primitives.”
