0G Labs Secures $35 Million for AI-Driven Modular Infrastructure

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In a recent resurgence of interest within the crypto landscape, startups find themselves at the center of an investment renaissance. A standout example of this trend is the strategic emergence of 0G Labs, a startup focused on revolutionizing web3 infrastructure. This ambitious venture has caught the industry’s eye by securing $35 million in pre-seed funding. To show that that they are “walking the walk” not just talking the talk, they also recently announced the release of their testnet work.

The magnitude of the $35 million pre-seed investment, as revealed by co-founder Michael Heinrich, far exceeds the initial goal of $5 million intended for foundational technology development. This substantial financial backing underscores the market’s confidence in 0G Labs’ potential to redefine the blockchain ecosystem.

Operating under the moniker ZeroGravity, 0G Labs is dedicated to pioneering the development of a modular AI blockchain. This innovative platform is engineered to address the inherent limitations of on-chain AI applications prevalent in the web3 space, such as inefficiencies in speed and cost. The principle of modularity is at the core of 0G Labs’ strategy, offering developers unparalleled flexibility in assembling their blockchain systems or applications. By allowing for the customization of components akin to selecting menu items in a restaurant, 0G Labs aims to empower developers to tailor blockchain solutions that perfectly align with their specific requirements.

🚀 Exciting Announcement from #0g_labs! 🚀

We're thrilled to launch our testnet Newton – the ultra-high data throughput blockchain optimized for on-chain AI. 😎 We know, it's super cool stuff 😉.
Join us in shaping the future of AI and blockchain technology!

👉 Explore the… pic.twitter.com/DyfIjX6n4E

— 0G Labs (@0G_labs) April 9, 2024

Data Availability

With the ambition to become a leading provider in the data availability (DA) sector, 0G Labs joins a competitive landscape that includes established and emerging DA providers like Celestia, EigenLayer, NEAR, and Avail. The platform’s strategy focuses on enhancing scalability by differentiating between data storage and data publishing processes, a move designed to optimize the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of on-chain operations.

Recently, the team announced the release of the ultra-high data throughput blockchain testnet Newton.

Data availability, a critical component in the functionality of blockchain networks, ensures that nodes have access to and can verify the integrity of transaction data. This capability is essential for the operation of optimistic rollups, such as Arbitrum and Optimism, which rely on complete access to transaction data to execute proofs and identify fraudulent activities. However, the process of publishing significant volumes of data can be costly, with a report from Blockworks Research indicating that DA expenses can constitute up to 90% of transaction costs on some rollups. The high cost is partly due to many rollups utilizing Ethereum for DA purposes, where block space comes at a premium.

To address these challenges, 0G Labs has introduced a cost-effective DA layer solution, garnering attention from sectors with high data throughput requirements, such as gaming, on-chain social media, and AI. Michael Heinrich, the founder of 0G, highlighted the company’s collaboration with various AI initiatives, including ORA and Modulus Labs, underscoring the platform’s capacity to support high-volume on-chain applications.

A Strong Team

The genesis of 0G Labs was marked by insightful deliberations among its co-founders—Michael Heinrich, Ming Wu, Fan Long, and Thomas Yao. Their collective expertise spans diverse domains within the technology and blockchain industries. Through engaging discussions with market stakeholders, the founders identified a critical need for advancements in data storage and availability to not only scale blockchain technologies but also to enable the practical implementation of on-chain AI solutions. This realization propelled the team’s commitment to filling the existing gaps in the infrastructure, leveraging their combined experiences and insights. Heinrich’s entrepreneurial journey with garten, alongside Wu and Long’s foundational role in Conflux Network and Yao’s partnership in IMO Ventures, underscores the diverse skill set driving 0G Labs’ mission.

The fundraising journey of 0G Labs epitomizes the burgeoning interest and belief in its vision among the investor community. The pre-seed round quickly attracted significant attention, becoming 20 times oversubscribed with an overwhelming $100 million in expressed interest. This enthusiastic reception facilitated the participation of over 40 crypto-native institutions, including industry giants such as Alliance, Animoca Brands, and Delphi Digital, among others. Heinrich reflects on the fundraising success as a testament to the community-driven ethos of web3, prompting the decision to expand the capital intake to forge strategic partnerships that align with 0G Labs’ long-term objectives.

With the influx of capital, 0G Labs is poised to accelerate its hiring initiatives, focusing on attracting top-tier engineering talent to expand its technological capabilities and infrastructure. The development of a vibrant community and ecosystem around its platform remains a priority.

Throughput and Security

0G Labs distinguishes itself through a unique architectural design that incorporates separate lanes for data publishing and storage. This dual-lane system facilitates the efficient management of on-chain data, with the data publishing lane employing a technique known as data availability sampling. This method allows light nodes within the blockchain network to download random data subsets, enabling them to verify the complete and accurate publication of data with a high degree of statistical certainty. Similar DA sampling techniques are utilized by other DA layers like Celestia and Avail, and Ethereum’s forthcoming upgrade to full danksharding is expected to incorporate DA sampling as well.

The Future is Bright

Looking ahead, 0G Labs anticipates the full operationalization of its blockchain on the mainnet by the third quarter of the year. This milestone will unlock the potential for a wide range of Web 2.0 applications to be developed on-chain, fostering innovation and expanding the boundaries of what is possible within the blockchain domain. Heinrich envisions a dynamic ecosystem comprising layer 2 blockchains and decentralized applications that leverage 0G’s high-performance infrastructure to cater to millions of users. The overarching goal is to facilitate new use cases, including on-chain AI, gaming, and high-frequency decentralized finance (DeFi), while minimizing transaction costs to negligible levels.

The Token?

While 0G Labs currently operates without its proprietary token, its identity as a web3 entity hints at the potential introduction of a token in the future, signaling a commitment to integrating fully within the blockchain economy.

We think it very likely that a token will be introduced in the next 6 months, at which point we here at InsideBitcoins will be one of the first ones to announce it to our readers. We will inform our readers on how to participate in the potential airdrop or presale.