Avail, a project bringing a data availability layer network to the growing modular blockchain ecosystem, has secured $43 million through Series A funding from Cyber Fund. The project will compete with other big names in the DA niche like Celestia.
Founded by Polygon co-founder Anurag Arjun, Avail looks to address the scalability issues associated with present-day blockchain builds. The project will ensure newly developed layer 2 networks move away from monolithic builds and utilize its data availability network instead of relying on Ethereum, which is already congested.
Switching to bespoke data availability networks like Avail can help reduce gas fees tremendously and scale transactions beyond existing limits, pushing blockchain networks toward Web2-like efficiency. Avail is addressing the gap in Web3 efficiency as it is a long way behind what Web2 provides.
The next step in blockchain scalability is modularity, with newer rollup projects spreading their requirements across various networks instead of relying entirely on layer 1 networks like Ethereum. They manage dApp (decentralized application) execution on their dedicated execution environment, push data requirements to data availability layers, and leave transaction settlement to layer 1s.
Avail’s developments mark one section of this modular framework but a highly important one. Data availability, when left to congested layer 1s, results in high gas fees. Independent networks for data-related purposes significantly cut down gas fees and also relieve layer 1s from carrying out burdensome data availability tasks, aiding them in overcoming their woes with slow transaction processing.
Avail has so far raised a total of $75 million in funding from some of the leading VCs and angel investors, including Founders Fund, Dragonfly Capital, Cyber Capital and others.
Joey Kruger, a partner at Founders Fund, a VC firm taking part in the funding round said, “Avail makes data availability — a historically costly problem for blockchains — much cheaper and more efficient with their innovative, custom-built approach.” VCs identify this new yet crucial narrative for a better blockchain user experience and are investing heavily in modular blockchain projects. Avail is just one of them.