- Union, the modular interoperability layer, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Gumi Cryptos Capital and Longhash Ventures.
- Union uses zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to remove reliance on centralized intermediaries, enabling secure, trustless, and sovereign cross-chain interoperability.
- Union’s Ethereum-to-IBC bridge facilitates liquidity and user flow between Cosmos and other ecosystems, with integrations including Polygon, Arbitrum, and Movement Labs.
- It also addresses the limitations of Bitcoin to enhance DeFi applications.
Union, a cross-chain settlement layer using zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, has raised $12 million in Series A funding to advance its mission of seamless and secure interoperability across Web3 ecosystems.
The Series A funding round, led by Gumi Cryptos Capital and Longhash Ventures, brings Union’s total funding to $16 million.
The funding round also included participation from Borderless Capital and other venture capital firms, along with support from prominent Web3 founders, including from Polygon, Movement, and Berachain.
The latest investment comes less than a year after Union’s $4 million seed round led by Anagram’s Galileo fund.
Breaking the Blockchain Silo
Union aims to tackle one of Web3’s most pressing challenges: secure and trustless cross-chain interoperability. With a focus on eliminating reliance on centralized intermediaries such as Multi-Signatures (Multi-Sigs) and Multi-Party Computations (MPCs), Union uses modular ZK proof technology to create an infrastructure that provides -priority to user sovereignty and security.
“Our goal is to reduce fragmentation and bring secure, sovereign, and seamless interoperability to Web3,” said Karel Kubat, Founder of Union.
He emphasized that the latest increase underscores the team’s commitment to advancing the multichain vision.
Union’s approach goes beyond technical innovation, positioning itself as a foundational layer for Web3 projects. By allowing users to generate their own proofs, Union enables greater decentralization and faster transaction speeds, paving the way for a more integrated multichain ecosystem.
Investor Confidence in the Multichain Future
For investors, Union’s vision reflects the growing need for robust interoperability solutions as Web3 ecosystems proliferate.
“Union’s deep technical expertise and pragmatic approach make them uniquely suited to address the challenges of fragmentation and chaotic user experience on the blockchain,” said Miko Matsumura, Managing Partner at Gumi Cryptos Capital. “They are solving a very difficult problem with the potential to change the world.”
Emma Cui, Managing Partner at Longhash Ventures, highlighted Union’s role in the multichain future, citing its contributions to composability and abstraction.
“By using ZK proofs and light clients for consensus verification, Union provides a secure and efficient foundation for universal message passing, asset transfer, and rollup settlement,” he said.
Expanding Integration in Ecosystems
Union’s technology is already making an impact, with integrations spanning leading blockchain ecosystems, including Ethereum, Cosmos, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Movement Labs. Its main product, the Ethereum-to-IBC bridge, facilitates liquidity and user flow between Cosmos and other ecosystems.
The Union is also making strides in the Bitcoin ecosystem, addressing limitations in Bitcoin’s scripting capabilities to enable secure asset transfers across Bitcoin Layer 2s. This effort could enhance Bitcoin’s role in decentralized finance (DeFi), an area traditionally dominated by Ethereum.
The project’s collaboration with the NFT platform Stargaze further emphasizes its versatility, enabling cross-chain NFT transactions and expanding the Union’s reach in the creative and gaming sectors.
Open-Source and Community Engagement
Union actively engages with the Web3 community through initiatives such as its trusted ZK ceremony and open-sourcing its codebase. These steps reflect its commitment to fostering transparency and collaboration in the blockchain space.
As modular tech stacks and multichain visions gain traction, Union is well positioned to address interoperability challenges, offering a secure and decentralized alternative to legacy solutions. The Series A funding marks a significant step forward in Union’s journey to redefine how assets, messages and data flow on blockchains.
“The union, like its connections, is unstoppable,” said Kubat, indicating the project’s ambition to become a cornerstone of the Web3 ecosystem.
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