Key Points
- Ethereum Layer 2 network TEN, developed by Obscuro Labs, has raised $9 million in a funding round led by R3.
- The funding round has brought Obscuro's fully diluted token valuation to $30 million.
Obscuro Labs, the creator of the Ethereum Layer 2 network known as TEN ("The Encrypted Network"), has secured $9 million in a funding round.
The round was spearheaded by enterprise blockchain company R3, with participation from Republic Crypto, KuCoin Labs, Big Brain Holdings, Magnus Capital, and DWF Labs.
Three Tranches Over Two Years
According to Obscuro co-founder Gavin Thomas, the funding was collected in three tranches over the past two years.
The most recent tranche, worth nearly $3 million, closed in December.
These tranches were structured as simple agreements for future equity (SAFE) with token warrants.
Thomas also disclosed that the funding round has increased Obscuro's fully diluted token valuation to $30 million.
Thomas, a former R3 executive, co-founded Obscuro in 2022 to create TEN, an encrypted Ethereum Layer 2.
More than half of the Obscuro team, seven out of 13 people, come from R3, where they worked on R3's permissioned blockchain, Corda.
R3 has been supportive of TEN from the start, with R3 co-founder Todd McDonald leading Obscuro's funding round.
About TEN
TEN is an Ethereum Layer 2 network that focuses on encryption, allowing developers to choose which parts of the smart contracts they want to keep private and which parts they want to make public.
TEN utilizes secure enclaves, a pragmatic technology for encrypting the ledger, which provide robust confidentiality guarantees.
TEN essentially creates "confidential" roll-ups and aims to offer efficiency similar to Optimistic-based Layer 2 networks while maintaining "full encryption".
TEN, as an encrypted Ethereum Layer 2, is expected to "massively open up the design space," allowing a new generation of on-chain games, decentralized finance, real-world assets, and institutional use cases to be developed.
TEN is currently in testnet mode and is expected to launch the mainnet in October. Meanwhile, TEN's native token will launch in June.
The token is a governance token, and Obscuro Labs aims to decentralize key decisions as much as possible leading up to the mainnet.
With the new funding, Obscuro aims to expand its 13-member team by hiring in business development and engineering roles.
