Taiko Secures $15M Series A Funding Ahead of Mainnet Debut

Scaling Ethereum: Taiko's $15 Million Funding Boost

Blockchain project Taiko, dedicated to enhancing the scalability of Ethereum, has proudly announced a significant milestone – a $15 million Series A funding round. The funding was co-led by Lightspeed Faction, Hashed, Generative Ventures, and Token Bay Capital. Additional participants included Wintermute Ventures, Flow Traders, Amber Group, OKX Ventures, and GSR.

While the specifics of the round's completion remain unclear due to regulatory approvals, this development signals a crucial step forward for Taiko as it prepares for the imminent launch of its mainnet in the coming months.

Taiko Unveiled: A Closer Look at the Layer 2 Scaling Startup

Taiko positions itself as a Layer 2 scaling startup, aiming to revolutionize Ethereum by making it more cost-effective while preserving its core principles of censorship resistance, permissionless access, and security. At the heart of its efforts is the creation of a "Type 1" ZK-EVM – an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible ZK-rollup that facilitates zero-knowledge proof computation.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin endorsed Taiko's approach, stating, "Type 1 ZK-EVMs are what we ultimately need to make the Ethereum Layer 1 itself more scalable."

Having initiated its development in 2022, Taiko recently launched its sixth testnet named Katla in January. This testnet, featuring the "based contestable rollup" design, garnered over 1.1 million wallet addresses and processed more than 13 million transactions.

The Road to Mainnet: Taiko's Future Plans

Taiko's mainnet launch, initially scheduled for the first quarter of this year, is now set for completion before the end of Q2. Co-founder and COO Terence Lam emphasized the need to upgrade the Katla testnet to support EIP-4844, undergo additional stress tests, and conduct security audits before the mainnet release.

Currently employing around 40 individuals, Taiko envisions team expansion across various functions, including engineering, community development, and ecosystem growth. In addition, the project aims to establish an ecosystem investment fund in collaboration with its backers. While the fund's exact size is pending confirmation, Taiko previously earmarked $30 million for its second round of grants in December 2023.