Gelato, a network that specializes in automating smart contracts, has secured an additional $11 million in Series A+ funding. The funding round was led by Hack VC, bringing Gelato’s total funding to $23 million. Investors such as Animoca Brands, IOSG Ventures, and Bloccelerate VC also participated in the funding round. Gelato plans to utilize the funds to strengthen its blockchain network and expand its tools for decentralized applications (DApps) and Web3 projects.
Hilmar Orth, co-founder of Gelato, explained that the funding will enable the platform to support both Web3 and Web2 applications, making on-chain solutions more accessible to companies. Orth emphasized the importance of affordable access to blockspace.
As part of the funding announcement, Kraken’s Ink, a layer-2 blockchain solution, joined Gelato as a customer. Ink, which was introduced by Kraken on October 24, is designed to facilitate decentralized finance (DeFi) activities such as trading, borrowing, and lending. The partnership between Ink and Gelato aligns with their shared goal of promoting on-chain functionality without intermediaries.
Orth highlighted the value that Kraken’s expertise adds to Gelato’s network, especially with the advanced DeFi tools Ink offers within the blockchain ecosystem.
The increasing popularity of decentralized applications has created a demand for scalable blockchain solutions. Issues such as high transaction fees and slow processing speeds pose challenges for many Web3 platforms. Orth emphasized the need for a modular approach to scaling applications, moving away from relying on a single chain for all applications. This approach ensures high performance, security, and interoperability across blockchain networks, allowing Gelato to support the development of Web3 applications on a larger scale.
This recent funding round follows Gelato’s previous $11 million Series A funding, which took place on October 8. The earlier funding round saw participation from Dragonfly Capital, ParaFi Capital, and Aave founder Stani Kulechov. These funds support Gelato’s efforts to add more blockchains to its network and expand its development team to drive innovation across multiple blockchain platforms.
Gelato’s core service, Ethereum smart contract automation, plays a vital role in managing liquidity and volatility in cryptocurrency markets. By automating these tasks, Gelato’s tools offer reliable solutions for enterprises and DeFi projects looking to efficiently scale their blockchain usage.