Ethereum Scaling Startup StarkWare Raises $100M in Series D, Quadruples Valuation to $8B

StarkWare, an Ethereum scaling startup that utilizes ZK-rollup technology, has quadrupled its valuation to $8 billion after raising $100 million in a Series D funding round.

Greenoaks Capital and Coatue led the round, Israel-based StarkWare announced on Wednesday. Other existing and new investors also backed the round, including Tiger Global. The funding also had a secondary component, meaning StarkWare's employees were able to sell shares.

StarkWare's valuation has surged sharply in the past six months, despite the recent souring of sentiment following the Terra blockchain's collapse. Last November, the firm was valued at $2 billion when it raised $50 million in Series C funding. In March, a Israeli newspaper reported that StarkWare was hoping to raise at least $100 million at a $6 billion valuation.

When asked what led to the jump in valuation, StarkWare co-founder and CEO Uri Kolodny said that both developer and investor communities are realizing that StarkWare is offering "the most comprehensive, most powerful, most battle-hardened, most future-proof solution to scale blockchain and that triggers a considerable amount of interest in being part of StarkWare."

StarkWare closed the round last week after Terra's dramatic unwind, noted Kolodny.

Source: The Block