a16z invests $100 million in Ethereum protocol EigenLayer

• a16z has invested $100 million in Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer.
• The startup founded by former University of Washington associate professor Sreeram Kannan raised $50 million in March.
• EigenLayer has a TVL of $7.84 billion, up from $2.15 billion on February 5, 2024.

Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has invested $100 million in EigenLayer, a startup founded by former University of Washington associate professor Sreeram Kannan.

According to a Bloomberg report on Thursday, a16z was the only investor in the funding round.

a16z backs EigenLayer with $100 million

EigenLayer is the largest restaking protocol on Ethereum. It allows validators and stakers to earn by restaking liquid staking derivatives such as the Lido staked Ether (stETH) and RocketPool staked ETH (rETH). 

The $100 million investment adds to the $50 million that the EigenLayer team raised in March last year. 

Accelerating Ethereum Together: @eigenlayer ♾ @a16zcrypto

We are excited to announce that Eigen Labs, the core development team contributing to EigenLayer and @eigen_da, has raised $100 million from a16z crypto.https://t.co/M2JQ8HZZ0h

— EigenLayer (@eigenlayer) February 22, 2024

The partnership with a16z crypto expands the Eigen Labs and a16z’ commitment to research, the platforms noted. This will include in the area of open source, public goods and long-term support across the industry.

“a16z is extremely long-term. They first published perspectives on Bitcoin and Coinbase as early as 2013. In the decade since they’ve continued to support the industry in important ways, including advocating for a positive technological future with policymakers and regulators,” the Eigen Labs team noted in a blog post.

EigenLayer launched in 2021 and has seen tremendous growth over the past few months. At the moment, the protocol ranks as the third-largest by total value locked (TVL) on Ethereum. 

Data from DeFiLlama shows EigenLayer’s TVL currently stands at $7.84 billion, having sharply risen from $2.15 billion on February 5, 2024.