Ex-Diem developers raise additional $150 million from FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto

Aptos Labs, a blockchain startup founded by a former Diem developer publication Finished a $ 150 million Series A round led by FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto.

Founded within a year, this startup was previously $ 200 million In a seed round led by a16z. With the latest funding, the startup’s cumulative capital has reached $ 350 million and its valuation has reached $ 2 billion. Bloomberg.

Regarding the investment round, which is a partner of FTX Ventures, Ramnick Arora said:

For blockchain technology to reach the next billion users, we need to prioritize scalability, safety, and ease of use. Aptos does just that.

Other investors in this round include a16z Crypto, Multicoin, Apollo, Griffin Gaming Partners, Franklin Templeton, Superscript and Circle Ventures.

From Diem to Aptos

January 2022, Meta Signs Stop developing the Diem Cryptographic Project. The tech giant faced strong resistance from regulators and eventually Diem’s development tools were sold to Silvergate in a $ 200 million deal. Diem CEO Stuart Levy Says:

“Nevertheless, dialogue with federal regulators has revealed that the project cannot proceed.”

Aptos co-founders MoShaikh and AveryChing, the core developers who lead the Diem project, took shots to revive the dying Diem blockchain. as a result, During FebruaryDuo founded Aptos with a team of former Meta employees working on the Diem project with the mission of providing “the safest and most production-friendly blockchain in the world”.

Aptos Vision

Aptos is a layer 1 blockchain project aimed at addressing key issues such as scalability, security, and ease of use, and is hampering the mass adoption of Web3 solutions.

Developed using Move (the programming language behind Diem). The project aims to provide billions of Internet users at launch with a scalable, secure, decentralized, and affordable solution.

MoShaikh, co-founder of Aptos, said of the launch:

“We are building a reliable foundation blockchain for Web3 that guides users around the world to experience the benefits of decentralization.”

Since its launch seven months ago, the project has made great strides in its development. In March, we launched a developer testnet running 20,000 production nodes. The project is currently in the second phase of launching the Incentive Test Net, which requires node operators to test the staking and node reputation framework.

In the Aptos Hackathon and Grants program, many developers have already chosen to build on the platform.So far, they have secured a partnership with Google, And projects such as Pontem Network, Nutrios, Sollise, etc. are built using the Move tool. Aptos Mainnet will be available by the end of September 2022.