Bundlr Network, a decentralized platform that makes it fast and easy to store data on web3, has raised a $5.2 million seed round co-led by Framework Ventures, Arweave, Hypersphere Ventures, and Permanent Ventures. Other investors included OpenSea Ventures, Race Capital, KYVE, Double Down Fund, Coinbase’s Viktor Bunin, Kearny Jackson’s Sriram Krishnan, Aave’s Jimmy Chang, Glass Protocol’s Sam Sends, OpenSea’s Kevin Pawlak, Mirror’s Andrew Hong, OpenSea’s Shiva Rajaraman, Orca Protocol’s Chase Chapman, Gitcoin’s Annika Lewis, Edge & Node’s Nader Dabit, Hedosophia’s Lawson Emanuel, Metaplex’s Sam Vanderwaal, and Cowfund’s David Phelps.
Bundlr is building the future of data storage by bringing the speed and ease of web2 to web3. Today, most data is stored on centralized servers that are owned by a singular entity which presents many risks for data security and manipulation. Bundlr was built to solve this challenge, by providing a fast, multichain solution for users to store on Arweave, the only permanent and decentralized data storage platform. Permanent data storage is the only piece of technology that makes it near impossible to alter, censor, or hack data.
Bundlr comprises multiple nodes, which are used to aggregate data. It “bundles” the data uploads together creating a single data transaction onto Arweave. This significantly increases the amount of data that can be uploaded. Today, Bundlr is responsible for processing over 90% of all data uploaded to Arweave and infinitely scales transactions per second.
Bundlr also acts as a caching layer, allowing uploaded data to be instantly accessible by the end user. It is a multi-chain solution that is compatible with a number of leading blockchains including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and more, enabling users to pay for data uploads in any token, including ETH, SOL, AVAX, MATIC, and many more.
“Bundlr is bringing speed and ease to web3 technology.” said CEO and Founder Josh Benaron. “Permanent, secure data storage of NFTs, crypto assets, metadata, and code is crucial as web3 continues to grow. Arweave promises to store your data securely for over 200 years. We are making this future possible by enabling faster and easier access by anyone, anywhere.”
Bundlr Co-founder Josh Benaron was first introduced to Arweave in January 2021 and developed several small projects to improve the ecosystem. While working on a bridge that would connect Arweave to the Ethereum DeFi chain, Josh met Sam Williams, the founder and CEO of Arweave. Josh was inspired to create Bundlr after his conversation with Sam around Arweave’s scalability, and so in April 2021, Bundlr Network was created.
“We want everyone to be able to use the technology we created at Arweave,” said Sam Williams. “That’s why Bundlr is so important. It not only enables more data uploads, but it makes using Arweave faster, easier, and scalable. I look forward to continuing working with Josh and his team.”
Decentralized, permanent storage is especially critical for the NFTs ecosystem. Contrary to popular belief, NFT’s digital assets, metadata, and code are not always stored on their native blockchain but on centralized servers. This leaves the NFT at risk of being lost, hacked, or stolen if there were a single point of hard drive failure. Given the tremendous amount of money in the ecosystem, this is a huge risk for creators and developers.
Leading marketplaces need Bundlr to ensure secure, long-term storage for NFTs. It is an unparalleled solution that NFT holders and creators have confidence in, knowing that their assets will be safe indefinitely. NFT marketplaces are not the only ones who can benefit from Bundlr. Any company that handles data can find security and speed by storing their data on Arweave through Bundlr.
“We see permanent data storage as a major part of the Web3 tech stack, and therefore scaling solutions that can meet upcoming demand across different blockchains are absolutely critical,” said Michael Anderson, co-founder of Framework Ventures. “The metrics that Bundlr has been able to deliver for the Arweave network are nothing short of incredible, and we believe the project will play a massive role in unlocking adoption in this vertical.”
The capital raised in this round will go towards scaling its team specifically in business development, Rust developers, and marketing initiatives. In the coming months, the team plans to release its validator program and will continue creating new partnerships with projects that would benefit from Bundlr’s solution.
About Bundlr Network
Bundlr is a decentralized platform that makes it fast and easy to store data on web3. It is a reliable, multichain solution that enables easy access to Arweave. Bundlr is responsible for processing over 90% of all data uploaded on Arweave and increases upload speeds by ~3000%. Bundlr is integrated on most platforms and is multi-chain compatible including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain and more.
To learn more about Bundlr, and its upcoming developments, visit its website. For real-time updates, follow Bundlr on Twitter.