- Union, the modular interoperability layer, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Gumi Cryptos Capital and Longhash Ventures.
- Union uses zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to eliminate dependency on centralized intermediaries, enabling secure, sovereign, and trustless cross-chain interoperability.
- Union’s Ethereum-to-IBC bridge facilitates liquidity and user flow between Cosmos and other ecosystems, with integrations including Polygon, Arbitrum, and Movement Labs.
- It also addresses the limitations of Bitcoin to improve DeFi applications.
Uniona cross-chain settlement layer leveraging zero-knowledge (ZK) technology, has raised $12 million in Series A funding to advance its mission of secure and seamless interoperability across Web3 ecosystems.
The Series A funding round, co-led by Gumi Cryptos Capital and Longhash Ventures, brings Union’s total funding to $16 million.
The funding round also included participation from Borderless Capital and other venture capital firms, along with backing from prominent Web3 founders including those at Polygon, Movement and Berachain.
The latest investment comes less than a year after Union’s $4 million seed round led by Anagram’s Galileo fund.
Breaking Blockchain Silos
Union aims to address one of Web3’s most pressing challenges: secure, trustless cross-chain interoperability. Aiming to eliminate reliance on centralized intermediaries such as multi-signatures (Multi-Sigs) and multi-party computations (MPC), Union leverages ZK-proof modular technology to create an infrastructure that prioritizes user sovereignty and security.
“Our goal is to reduce fragmentation and bring secure, sovereign and seamless interoperability to Web3,” said Karel Kubat, founder of Union.
He emphasized that the latest increase underlines the team’s commitment to promoting the multi-chain vision.
Union’s approach goes beyond technical innovation and positions itself as a fundamental layer for Web3 projects. By allowing users to generate their own proofs, Union enables greater decentralization and faster transaction speeds, paving the way for a more integrated multi-chain ecosystem.
Investor confidence in a multi-chain future
For investors, Union’s vision resonates with the growing need for robust interoperability solutions as Web3 ecosystems proliferate.
“Union’s deep technical expertise and pragmatic approach make them uniquely suited to addressing the challenges of fragmentation and chaotic user experiences in blockchain,” said Miko Matsumura, Managing Partner at Gumi Cryptos Capital. “They are solving an extremely difficult problem with the potential to change the world.”
Emma Cui, managing partner at Longhash Ventures, highlighted Union’s role in the future of multichain and highlighted its contributions to composability and abstraction.
“By leveraging ZK proofs and light clients for consensus verification, Union provides a secure and efficient foundation for general message transmission, asset transfers and cumulative settlement,” he said.
Expand integration between ecosystems
Union’s technology is already having an impact, with integrations spanning major blockchain ecosystems including Ethereum, Cosmos, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Movement Labs. Its flagship product, the Ethereum-to-IBC bridge, facilitates liquidity and the flow of users between Cosmos and other ecosystems.
Union is also advancing the Bitcoin ecosystem, addressing limitations in Bitcoin scripting capabilities to enable secure asset transfers across Bitcoin Layers 2. This effort could enhance Bitcoin’s role in decentralized finance (DeFi), an area traditionally dominated by Ethereum.
The project’s partnership with NFT platform Stargaze further underlines its versatility, enabling cross-chain NFT transactions and expanding Union’s reach into the creative and gaming sectors.
Open source and community participation
Union has been actively engaging the Web3 community through initiatives such as its ZK trust ceremony and open sourcing its codebase. These moves reflect their commitment to fostering transparency and collaboration in the blockchain space.
As modular technology stacks and multi-chain visions gain traction, Union is well positioned to address interoperability challenges, offering a secure, decentralized alternative to legacy solutions. The Series A funding marks a significant step forward in Union’s journey to redefine how assets, messages and data flow across blockchains.
“The union, like its connections, is unstoppable,” said Kubat, noting the project’s ambition to become a cornerstone of the Web3 ecosystem.
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