Why We Invested: Orb Labs
Shima Capital is thrilled to be in business with Orb Labs, who recently announced that they’d just completed a $4.5 million raise led by Bain Capital with Shima also contributing.
Orb Labs is focused on making blockchains capable of interacting with each other, allowing developers to create products and services that incorporate the benefits of multiple blockchains at the same time. Their products will offer a less expensive and faster, more secure alternative to existing protocols trying to solve the same problems.
An Existing Need
We were drawn to Orb Labs because of a growing, industry-wide need for multichain infrastructure. The number of blockchains with a significant userbase and desirable blockspace is continuing to expand at an increasing rate. With the help of a little forward-thinking, this is trending towards potentially dozens of notable chains, each with meaningful users, TVL, and applications. Even factoring in consolidation and attrition, there will always be a strong need to communicate and transmit value between these chains.
Orb Labs’ protocol will be considerably less expensive and with higher security than similar protocols trying to solve the interoperability question. Now developers can choose for themselves: a bulkier build with max security vs a lighter, faster build with lower costs.
Strong Team
One of the reasons Shima Capital invested in Orb Labs is we were immediately impressed by the founding team, Richard Adjei and Felix Madutsa. The two were classmates at Princeton University, and the fact that they met in school and later worked together at another startup is a strong signal for a successful and efficient business partnership.
Based in New York, Orb Labs is launching with a cross-chain messaging protocol called Earlybird that allows developers to choose a security model that works best for their application based on the cost and speed needs. Their next project will be MagicLane, a cross-chain token and messaging platform that allows you to interact with tokens, users, and applications on any blockchain using a single contract.
We believe the Orb Labs team is equipped with the technology, capabilities, and products to take interoperability to the next level, starting with Earlybird and MagicLane. We can’t wait to see their efforts play out.
To learn more about Orb Labs click here.
To find more Shima Capital portfolio companies click here.
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This article was also shared at yidagao.com
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About Shima Capital
Shima Capital is a leading early stage VC firm investing in disruptive blockchain companies. The fund is deeply focused on taking a hands-on approach and working closely with its portfolio companies to provide the most sweat equity per dollar invested. As teams in Web3 push the frontier of innovation, Shima helps hire talent, build community, amplify narratives, and foster the acceleration of technical research and development. Shima is composed of seasoned investors, accomplished operators, and former founders who align on a mission to support all-star teams with building and scaling generational companies. Learn more at www.shima.capital.
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