Espresso Systems is a remote startup developing a shared sequencing marketplace and the HotShot finality gadget to connect and provide finality for layer-2 scaling solutions. In the marketplace, rollups can sell the right to build their blocks to proposers who bid for those rights, and proposers can bid on multiple rollup blocks to become shared proposers across chains. This shared sequencing model is intended to facilitate cross-chain activity and allows participation by anyone, including L1 proposers and rollup DAO-appointed sequencers. Rollups that prefer not to manage sequencing can outsource it to Espresso. The HotShot finality gadget offers lightning-fast finality on proposed blocks to preserve user experience. Espresso raised $28M in a Series B and plans to use the funds to continue product development. Espresso Systems is developing a layer-one blockchain that leverages zero-knowledge proofs and ZK-Rollups to boost throughput and lower gas fees while aiming to preserve decentralization. The team is focused on integrating roll-ups with consensus to avoid centralizing critical transaction data. Its core privacy product is CAPE (Configurable Asset Privacy for Ethereum), a smart-contract application that lets asset creators set customizable viewing and freezing policies. CAPE will debut on the Ethereum testnet in the near term and is planned to run natively on the Espresso blockchain; the company is also building a bridge to Ethereum to move assets between chains. The project is led by CEO Ben Fisch, COO Charles Lu, chief scientist Benedikt Bünz and CSO Jill Gunter, and employs 26 people, 18 of whom are engineers. Espresso aims to serve use cases such as private stablecoins for institutions that need a balance of privacy and compliance.

Total raised

$58M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Mar 2024