Sui

Tencent Cloud signs multiple collaboration agreements with blockchain firms

The Chinese internet giant is launching new Web 3.0 solutions including a Metaverse-in-a-Box product and blockchain API services.

Tencent Cloud has concluded multiple agreements with blockchain firms to support the active development of the Web3 ecosystem, the cloud computing branch of Chinese internet giant Tencent announced in a Feb. 22 press release.

First, Tencent Cloud signed a memorandum of cooperation with decentralized blockchain infrastructure provider Ankr to jointly develop a series of blockchain API services for remote procedure call nodes. The new service will be deployed on Tencent Cloud’s infrastructure and will provide connections to mainstream blockchains building on Web 3.0 games and applications. 

Second, Tencent Cloud said that it reached strategic cooperation agreements with three other blockchain partners, Avalanche, Scroll, and Sui, to accelerate the adoption of Web3 applications. The cooperation between Tencent Cloud and Avalanche will provide developers with efficient and fast node settings. With the help of Tencent Cloud’s infrastructure footprint, the cooperation between Tencent Cloud and Scroll will assist developers with building practical projects on Scroll and expand access to non-blockchain enterprises.

Finally, the cooperation between Tencent Cloud and Sui will provide developers with cloud game development tools and professional support to improve the on-chain game experiences.

The company also introduced a new Tencent Cloud metaverse-in-a-box product for Web3 developers that fully integrates a wide range of infrastructure, high-performance products, out-of-the-box software development kits, and low-code solutions for use in games and media entertainment. Poshu Yeung, a senior vice president at Tencent Cloud International, stated:

“With a transparent digital future ahead, Tencent cloud is prepared to, through its accumulated experience in the field of games, audio, and video, provide strong technical support for Web3. Tencent Cloud will cooperate with industry partners to offer more immersive experiences and cultivate the cultivate Web3 ecosystem.”

Tencent’s upcoming metaverse-in-a-box product. Source: Tencent Cloud

Former Meta execs raise $300M to ‘accelerate adoption’ of Sui blockchain

Investors included FTX Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Jump Crypto, a16z, Circle Ventures, among others.

Mysten Labs, the company behind the yet-to-launch layer-1 blockchain Sui, has raised $300 million aimed at building core infrastructure and accelerating the adoption of its Sui blockchain ecosystem. 

The blockchain company, which was founded by former executives of social media giant Meta in 2021, said in a Thursday announcement that it landed $300 million in a Series B funding round led by crypto exchange venture arm FTX Ventures.

Other Series B investors included Coinbase Ventures, Jump Crypto, Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z, Circle Ventures, Binance Labs and O’Leary Ventures, among other investment funds and partners, with the new capital valuing the company at over $2 billion.

In addition to equity, investors will receive warrants for native tokens to be traded on the future blockchain.

Mysten is the creator of the Sui blockchain, a proof-of-stake (PoS) layer-1 blockchain that uses a feature called “transaction parallelization” to achieve high throughput, low latency transactions and low transaction fees, which may give existing blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana a run for its money.

Mysten co-founder and CEO Evan Cheng said the new funding would be used to build its technology, the company’s hiring efforts and expansion to the Asia-Pacific region.

“This new funding will enable Mysten to continue to scale Sui, and we are grateful for the support from blue-chip investors and strategic partners who are aligned in our mission.”

Cheng suggested that current Web3 infrastructure “is in the dial-up era,” noting:

“It’s slow, expensive, capacity constrained, insecure, and simply hard to build for.”

The latest funding suggests that some venture capital investors remain unphased by the crypto bear market. A recent report from Messari revealed that $30.3 billion in funds was invested by VC firms in the first six months of this year, outpacing the entire fundraising year in 2021.

Related: VCs pour $14.2B into crypto in H1 2022, but investments now slowing

Last December, Mysten Labs raised $36 million Series A funding, led by a16z.

The company was founded in September 2021 by former cryptographical program engineers behind Meta’s crypto-payments platform Diem and mobile wallet Novi. Mysten Labs is led by CEO Evan Chang, chief technology officer Sam Blackshear, chief product officer Adeniyi Abiodun and chief scientist George Danezis.