Lemniscap backs $4.6 million raise for infrastructure provider Gateway.fm

Gateway.fm raised $4.6 million in a round led by Lemniscap to build decentralized blockchain infrastructure tools.

The seed round also saw participation from investors including CMT Digital, the LAO DAO, Very Early Ventures, Fantom Foundation and Unstoppable Domain Ventures, said the company in the release.

The startup is building decentralized remote procedure call (RPC) solutions, so that web3 companies don’t need to rely on centralized services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Google Cloud. RPC nodes enable decentralized applications to connect to blockchains and easily access user data.

Gateway.fm offers three services: Gateway Grow, an institutional staking service; Gateway Access, its web3 RPC node infrastructure solution and Gateway Jumpstart, which enables blockchains and protocols to accelerate their mainnet launch.

“For too long, the spirit of decentralisation at the heart of the web3 movement has been undermined by limited access to scalable infrastructure,” said Cuautemoc Weber, co-founder and CEO of Gateway.fm in the release. “No more. We want to provide reliable node infrastructure, best-in-class validators and robust dev tooling to help web3 projects scale at pace, while enticing financial institutions and enterprises to explore blockchain technology with confidence.”

The funding from the raise will be used to accelerate product development as well as for marketing and hiring efforts, the company said.

Near, Fantom, Gnosis and 1inch are among the companies that use Gateway.fm’s infrastructure tools, according to its website.

“With a set of elite-grade, next-gen tools, Gateway is broadening the inclusivity, availability and reliability of blockchain networks and protocols,” said Roderik van der Graaf, founder of Lemniscap, in the release.

Infrastructure spending

Infrastructure is the second category to receive the majority of venture funding in January, according to data from The Block Research. 

“In past cycles, the Infrastructure category has attracted interest and investment as active investors who remained looked to discover foundational companies and projects,” said John Dantoni, research analyst at The Block Research, in the January report. “Over the past 6 months, infrastructure projects have accounted for roughly 20% of all seed deals.”

Breakdown of blockchain venture spend