VC Roundup: PQShield Secures $37 Million in Funding, Renzo Raises $17 Million

The activity reflects a growing interest in diverse blockchain applications, from gaming and social networks to advanced cryptographic security. It closed a $37 million Series B round to enhance its post-quantum cryptography solutions.

Led by Addition, the funding round also included new investors such as Braavos Capital, Legal & General, and Chevron Technology Ventures. PQShield’s technology is aimed at future-proofing cryptographic systems against quantum computer-based hacks, with notable clients including Nvidia and AMD.

The company’s founder, Dr. Ali El Kaafarani, said that PQShield will use the new funds to hire more people and facilitate closer working relationships with its partners and customers. It secured $17 million in a series A round led by Galaxy Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital Nova Fund.

Earlier in January, the platform raised $3.2 million in a seed round led by Maven 11. The company raised $15 million in a series A round co-led by The Spartan Group and Gumi Cryptos Capital.

Previously, Particle raised $10 million in three funding rounds, bringing the total raised to $25 million. According to the company’s founder, Pengyu Wang, Particle will use the money to support its work on chain abstraction technology as well as expand its operations.

Other VC firms that participated in the round included Galaxy Interactive and Big Brain Holdings. The project has raised $16 million in total, following a $4 million round in 2022, giving it a fully diluted valuation of $100 million.

The funds will support Sonic’s mission to simplify Web3 gaming complexities and integrate with various gaming genres. Investors like Flowdesk, GCR, and DeWhales backed the initiative, which aims to enhance perpetual swaps through social trading features and cross-chain interoperability.

In its announcement, the company stated that it would use the fresh capital to introduce new features to the ZKX protocol, including social copy trade pools as well as expanding cross-chain interoperability to make perpetual swaps universally available. It secured $5 million in funding, led by Mechanism Capital.

Other participants in the round included Manifold, Skyvision Capital, and Morningstar Ventures.