Crypto infrastructure 0G secures $35 million in pre-seed to build modular AI blockchain

0G, also known as Zero Gravity, a Web3 data availability system, announced today that it raised $35 million in a pre-seed funding round. The fresh capital will be used to build a modular blockchain powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) that offers a scalable, secure, and versatile data availability (DA) service with a built-in decentralized storage layer.

The early-stage venture fund surpassed the team’s initial expectations. 0G co-founder Michael Heinrich told TechCrunch that the project originally sought to raise $5 million “in order to build the basic technology.”

According to the press release, 0G’s funding round attracted over 40 industry leaders, including Animoca Brands, OKX Ventures, Alliance, DWF Labs, Foresight Ventures, GSR, and Arca, among others. However, the project refused to disclose the valuation after the funding round.

Following the latest development, 0G is preparing for its testnet launch in the next few days. The project targets a mainnet launch in July this year.

Emerging as part of the latest cohort from Beacon, the web3 startup accelerator led by Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon, 0G focuses on addressing the scalability challenges associated with off-chain verification of executed states on blockchains. The project aims to provide a highly secure and efficient data availability service for layer 2 networks, decentralized AI platforms, and potentially diversified scenarios.

0G touts its technology’s impressive speed, claiming its blockchain can process transactions 50,000 times faster and with fees 100 times cheaper compared to competitors. Beyond speed and cost efficiency, 0G Labs is also developing “Uni-Chain,” a web3 architecture designed to seamlessly connect various networks into a unified metaverse.

The modularity blockchain has gained popularity over the past few months. Some well-known projects focusing on this concept include Celestia and EigenLayer. A report published by a16z last December also predicted that modularity would remain at the forefront of blockchain development in 2024 and beyond.

The trend towards modular blockchains continues to gain momentum. Last month, Inco, a layer 1 blockchain focused on modularity and confidential computing, secured $4.5 million in seed funding led by 1kx.

Earlier this month, modular blockchain Eclipse raised $50 million in series A funding led by Placeholder and Hack VC.