Espresso Secures $28M in Series B Round, Led by A16z Crypto
Espresso's primary focus is on building a marketplace for shared sequencing, allowing rollups to auction the rights to build their blocks.
Espresso Systems, a prominent player in the field of "shared sequencing" in blockchain technology, has successfully raised $28 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by the renowned venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz's a16z Crypto. Polygon Labs, a key player in Layer-2 solutions, also participated in the investment, along with other notable investors such as StarkWare, Taiko, and Offchain Labs.
This latest round follows Espresso's previous successful fundraising efforts, including a $30 million Series A round in 2022 and a $2 million seed funding round in 2020. With the Series B funding, Espresso's total funds now exceed $60 million, although the project did not disclose its latest valuation. The Series B round, which commenced negotiations in early Q4 2023, concluded with a16z's participation in early 2024. Espresso is also in the process of finalizing the round with additional strategic investors.
Shared sequencing has become increasingly important as blockchains strive for greater decentralization. Sequencers play a critical role in verifying and batching transactions on Layer-2 blockchains before settling them on Layer 1 chains like Ethereum. However, concerns about centralization and potential risks associated with sequencers have prompted the development of solutions like Espresso's shared sequencer, which relies on a decentralized network of nodes to address these issues.
Espresso's primary focus is on building a marketplace for shared sequencing, allowing rollups to auction the rights to build their blocks. This approach promotes interoperability among rollups and provides opportunities for various stakeholders, including Layer 1 block proposers, to participate in the ecosystem.
Espresso has already demonstrated proof-of-concept integrations with Polygon's zkEVM stack and Optimism's OP Stack on testnet. According to Ben Fisch, CEO of Espresso Systems, shared sequencing enables rollup users to experience seamless interaction with the Ethereum ecosystem, akin to being on a single Ethereum chain.
In addition to its shared sequencer product, Espresso is also developing a marketplace for shared sequencing. This marketplace will allow rollups to auction the right to build their blocks to proposers, who can bid for these rights. Proposers will have the opportunity to bid on multiple rollup blocks, serving as shared proposers for multiple chains simultaneously.
