Quick Summary:
- Essential secured $11 million in Series A funding through equity with token warrants.
- The initiative is developing an intent-focused Layer 2 blockchain on Ethereum.
Essential, an “intent-centric” Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain developer, has confidently secured $11 million in a Series A funding round, spearheaded by Archetype.
Key investors include IOSG Ventures, the Spartan Group, Mirana Ventures, Amber Group, Maven 11, and Big Brain Holdings. Additionally, undisclosed angel investors from prominent firms like Celestia, Hashflow, LI.FI, and Sorella also contributed.
Essential began its Series A fundraising earlier this year, successfully closing the round in June, according to co-founder and CEO Liesl Eichholz. Structured as equity with token warrants, the company has chosen not to disclose its valuation.
With this latest round, Essential’s total funding has risen to $16.15 million, building on the $5.15 million raised during its seed funding in September.
What is Essential?
Essential is a pioneering blockchain startup developing an intent-centric Ethereum Layer 2 network as an Optimistic rollup. Unlike traditional blockchains that rely on a transaction-based model—where users must provide precise instructions—Essential leverages an intent-based model, allowing users to simply specify their desired outcome. By handling user intents off-chain with “specialized solvers,” Essential enhances efficiency, streamlines the user experience, reduces on-chain workload, and boosts scalability.
“We’re in a league of our own—no direct competitors exist because we’re the first to build a blockchain using the declarative approach,” Eichholz stated confidently. “Our competition lies with other Layer 2 projects focused on advancing speed, scalability, and user experience.”
Essential mainnet and token launch timeline
Essential has officially launched Pint, a powerful new programming language designed for creating intent-centric and declarative blockchain applications. Alongside this launch, they have introduced a pre-alpha devnet for testing, accompanied by comprehensive developer documentation for a streamlined start.
“We’re targeting a testnet release later in 2024, with the mainnet following in 2025,” Eichholz stated confidently. When asked about the possibility of launching a token with the mainnet, Eichholz confirmed that it’s the plan, though it will depend on various factors.
Currently, Essential operates with a global team of 12, and Eichholz is preparing to “rapidly onboard key roles,” including head of growth, head of product, developer relations, community growth, and engineering.