Ethereum-based software provider Flashbots has raised $60 million during its series B funding round from venture capitalists and other major players in the blockchain industry. The funding, which was led by San Francisco-based investment platform, Paradigm, has increased Flashbots’ valuation to at least $1 billion.

Overview of the Fundraising 

The Series B fundraising round, led by popular venture capital firm Paradigm, marks a remarkable shift to Artificial Intelligence by venture capitalists in the crypto space. Aside from heading this Series B round, Paradigm was also the lead investment firm during Flashbots’ seed funding round in 2020. 

Investors in this round were chosen according to their “reverse pitches” in a ‘beauty contest’ for decentralization. The funding round was successful enough to boost the valuation of Flashbots to about $1 billion, effectively heralding its unicorn status.

Additionally, Flashbots noted that aside from Paradigm, several other venture capital platforms participated in this Series B round, alongside other major angel investors, Layer 2 networks, decentralized exchanges, and apps.

Before the Series B round, Flashbots had earlier on July 21 filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating that the platform had realized about $30 million of the total amount it sought to raise. The firm was looking to raise between $30 to $50 million at the time to meet the $1 billion valuation. 

In the coming days, details of more SEC filings are expected to become public to help establish that the firm has indeed met the total amount required. 

What is Flashbots?

Flashbots is an Ethereum-centric development and research platform focused on solving the negative impacts of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) bots. MEV refers to the profit users obtain by re-ordering or previewing blockchain transactions. Flashbots’ software seeks to reduce the impacts of MEV bots by enhancing transactions and designing a more efficient and transparent blockchain ecosystem. 

The platform’s foremost creation is the Single Unifying Auction for Value Expressions, commonly known as SUAVE. SUAVE is built to serve as an independent platform functioning as a decentralized block builder and transaction waiting room. 

Developers can optimize SUAVE to build intra-block applications, offering more private and cheaper transactions than those usually seen on Ethereum and like chains. According to Paradigm General Partner Charles Noyes, Flashbots is expected to lead the charge in delivering some of the most promising and vital aspects of blockchain technology. 

Noyes said that MEV is the future of crypto, and they are “proud to continue supporting Flashbots in its mission to develop SUAVE and ensure that crypto remains transparent, efficient, and equitable.”