Sort, a developer platform that simplifies the creation of smart contracts for Web3 applications, has successfully raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round. The funding round was co-led by Lemniscap, a prominent venture capital firm, and The General Partnership.
The startup intends to utilize the funds to expand its range of product offerings. In a press release, Sort expressed its plans to bolster its team, enhance the platform’s product suite, and accelerate the launch of “Sort applications,” which comprise a comprehensive toolkit for constructing user interfaces for blockchain contracts.
Despite the challenging conditions faced by the crypto industry, Web3 application developers have demonstrated remarkable resilience and continued their efforts within the ecosystem. Recent data from Alchemy, a backend company for Web3 developers, revealed that in the first quarter of this year, developers were installing an average of 1.9 million Ethereum software development kits (SDK) per week, representing a substantial 47% year-over-year increase. Moreover, the deployment of wallet SDKs has surged by a staggering 788% since the first quarter of 2022, marking an all-time high for wallet infrastructure installations.
Ahead of its official launch, Sort currently boasts a user base of over 150 free users, along with a small group of paying customers. Notably, the Chillennials NFT project leverages Sort as the driving force behind their leaderboard. Co-founder Jason Zucchetto praised Sort, stating, “Sort simplifies the process of creating websites and front-ends for blockchain applications” in an email.
According to Zucchetto, developers can initiate their journey by providing a contract address and gaining access to Sort’s comprehensive developer toolkit. Additionally, Sort offers a platform component specifically designed to assist React developers in initiating the development of web applications. React, an open-source JavaScript library, is frequently employed by developers to construct JavaScript-based applications.
Zucchetto clarified that once a contract is paid for on Sort, it becomes freely available for anyone to utilize. The benefits bestowed upon the contract developer are twofold: Sort serves as the backend, eliminating the need to manage any infrastructure or servers, and the developer can promote the use of Sort for free application development within their community on platforms like Discord or Twitter.
The seed funding round for Sort attracted investment from various entities, including Alliance DAO, Punk DAO, Orange DAO, Blizzard Fund, Parasol, Red Rooster Ventures, and several individual investors associated with Coinbase, Gemini, and Snyk.