Avalanche developer raising $350 million at $5.25 billion valuation: Report

Ava Labs, the main developer of the Avalanche blockchain, is reportedly raising $350 million in new funding at a $5.25 billion valuation.

Bloomberg reported the new fundraising on Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussions — although only one source gave the valuation.

The Block has reached out to Ava Labs for comments and will update this story should we hear back.

The Avalanche blockchain was launched in September 2020 by Ava Labs as an “Ethereum killer.” It has garnered over $13 billion worth of total value locked (TVL) to date compared to Ethereum’s over $115 billion, according to data from DeFi Llama. Avalanche is currently the fourth-largest blockchain after Ethereum, Terra and Binance Smart Chain.

If successful, the fundraise will make Ava Labs one of the highest valued crypto startups.

Ava Labs and related entities have raised nearly $250 million to date from high-profile investors. Last September, the Avalanche Foundation raised $230 million in a token sale led by Polychain and Three Arrows Capital. It had previously raised $18 million in two rounds.

Given Avalanche’s growing adoption, its native token AVAX has also shot up in price. The price has climbed about 5% over the past 24 hours to reach nearly $81, according to CoinGecko. The token’s fully diluted valuation currently stands at over $58 billion.