The funding round was co-led by Blockchain Capital, Maven 11, and Distributed Global and included contributions from a number of big-name investors, such as Coinbase Ventures, Placeholder, and Digital Currency Group.

Polymer Labs emerged from stealth nearly two years after closing its seed funding of $3.6 million.

Polymer has developed a layer 2 network that employs the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) - originally developed for the Cosmos ecosystem to allow different blockchains to communicate with one another - to build an Ethereum-based interoperability hub.

The aim is to counteract the challenges of interoperability that emerge as a result of the proliferation of layer 2s.

"Existing interoperability solutions such as token bridges are widely used but have proven unreliable and susceptible to hacks, leading to a lack of standardization within the Ethereum ecosystem with billions lost in exploits," Polymer Labs said in an emailed announcement on Tuesday.

Ethereum Interoperability Funding Rounds

Jamie Crawley

Jamie joined CoinDesk as a news reporter in February 2021 after writing widely about crypto and blockchain for two years in other roles. Away from crypto, Jamie runs a lot and loves all things sport. He holds small amounts of BTC, ETH, ADA and LTC.