Blockless, a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) project that focuses on providing computing power support, has announced raising $8 million in pre-seed and seed funding rounds.

The pre-seed round, led by NGC Ventures and valued at $3 million, was followed by the seed round worth $5 million, co-led by M31 Capital and Frachtis. Other investors in these rounds included No Limit Holdings, MH Ventures, Interop Ventures, and Plassa Capital, as per Blockless's announcement.

Blockless closed the pre-seed round in March 2022 but is revealing it now alongside the seed round. The latest seed round, initiated in February and finalized in April, was structured as a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) with token warrants in a 1:1 ratio, according to co-founder Butian Li. While Li did not disclose the valuation, she mentioned that the terms for both rounds were similar.

What is Blockless?

Blockless is a DePIN initiative that aims to facilitate automatic provision of computing power to applications through its network, eliminating the need for users to run specific nodes or download software.

"Blockless has developed a WebAssembly (WASM) application framework with a 'nestled node' embedded in the application. This means that when users access an application, they automatically contribute compute resources to that application via the Blockless network," explained Li.

Blockless operates as a "matchmaking service," akin to Uber connecting drivers with users. Similarly, Blockless connects applications with users to meet their computational requirements via its network, leading to rewards for users from both the applications and Blockless.

Blockless Network and Token Launch

Founded in 2022 by Li, Derek Anderson, Michael Chen, and Liam Zhang, Blockless plans to launch its testnet soon, followed by the mainnet and its native token, BLESS, in the third quarter of this year. The project utilizes the Cosmos SDK to develop its native network and token.

Based in Palo Alto, California, Blockless's core team consists of ten members, with plans to expand further in engineering, product, and ecosystem roles.

Competitors of Blockless include projects like io.net and Fluence Network, with io.net recently securing $30 million in Series A funding and reaching a $1 billion token valuation in March, as reported by The Block.