Optimum Secures $11 Million to Unlock the Missing “Memory Layer” for Smarter Blockchains

Optimum, a cutting-edge Web3 infrastructure startup, has raised $11 million in a seed funding spherical to construct what many within the business are calling the “lacking reminiscence layer” for blockchains.

Blockchains had been by no means meant to recollect. Their structure is designed for consensus and safety—not for reminiscence. Every transaction or good contract interplay is stateless, present in isolation from all others. Consequently, blockchains can not “recall” earlier consumer actions or information until this reminiscence is explicitly saved on-chain—an method that’s usually costly, inefficient, and cumbersome.

However what if decentralized purposes might entry historic information as simply as fashionable apps do right this moment? What if a DeFi protocol might recall your earlier staking exercise or portfolio allocations with out counting on pricey storage or centralized APIs? That’s the imaginative and prescient Optimum is chasing.

The Web3 infrastructure startup has simply introduced an $11 million seed funding spherical to construct what it calls the “lacking reminiscence layer” for blockchains—a permissionless, composable system that permits seamless entry to on-chain historic information throughout a number of ecosystems.

A Funding Spherical That Indicators Web3’s Maturing Infrastructure Layer:

The funding spherical was co-led by outstanding crypto-native buyers together with Maven 11, 1kx, and Galaxy Ventures, with further participation from Hashed, Robot Ventures, and Inflection.xyz.

The funds will probably be used to increase Optimum’s core engineering workforce, enhance its developer tooling, and roll out its information infrastructure throughout Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, and different main Layer-1 and Layer-2 blockchain ecosystems.

This funding underscores a broader development in Web3: an rising concentrate on information accessibility, developer expertise, and constructing infrastructure that rivals the capabilities of conventional cloud platforms—with out sacrificing decentralization.

Fixing Blockchain’s “Amnesia Problem”:

Blockchains are phenomenal at ensuring data immutability and verification. However, when it comes to storing or retrieving large amounts of historical data, they fall short. Most decentralized apps today depend on centralized indexers like Etherscan or services like The Graph to fetch older blockchain states. This reliance introduces potential bottlenecks, limits composability, and undermines the verifiability of on-chain applications.

Optimum aims to change that by tackling what it describes as the “amnesia problem” in blockchain systems.

Its solution is a composable memory layer—a decentralized protocol that allows developers and smart contracts to instantly fetch historical blockchain data without relying on third-party APIs. This enables use cases like querying the ETH balance of an address on a specific date, analyzing MEV or sandwich attacks, or constructing personalized DeFi experiences with historical awareness.

How Optimum’s Memory Layer Works?

At the heart of Optimum’s approach is a cryptographically secure data abstraction layer that compresses and stores verifiable summaries of blockchain history across multiple networks.

It uses advanced techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and succinct data commitments to ensure that any query—past token balances, staking actions, smart contract interactions—is both fast and trustless.

This architecture allows developers to query blockchain history similarly to how they would interact with a database, but with the guarantees of on-chain validation.

To deliver real-time read/write performance, Optimum is also developing DeRAM, a next-generation memory layer that operates like RAM for the blockchain. DeRAM is intended to support near-instant access to recent blockchain states at a fraction of the cost of on-chain storage, unlocking new efficiencies for high-performance dApps.

Together, these layers aim to replicate traditional computing memory hierarchies in a decentralized environment—paving the way for more powerful and intuitive Web3 applications.

A Deep Tech Pedigree: MIT, RLNC, and the Power of Coded Data

Optimum is co-founded by Muriel Médard, a renowned professor at MIT and a pioneer in network coding. Her research in Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) underpins much of Optimum’s architecture. RLNC transforms data into coded packets that are more resilient, composable, and efficient for distributed systems.

Her groundbreaking work in data compression and verifiable storage is now being applied to a decentralized context—turning theoretical models into practical infrastructure for Web3.

In a recently released video, Médard explained how her vision aligns with the broader Web3 mission: “If blockchains are to become the world’s computer, they need a memory system that is fast, decentralized, and accessible. That’s what Optimum is building.”

Making Web3 Feel Like Web2:

One of the biggest frictions in blockchain UX today is the lack of persistence. Smart contracts don’t remember you. Every interaction—whether it’s logging in, checking a balance, or claiming a reward—must be re-verified, restated, or reauthorized.

By introducing memory, Optimum aims to bridge that gap. With historical context built-in, smart contracts can create dynamic, personalized experiences much like apps in the Web2 world. This opens doors to improved DeFi portfolio management, richer NFT histories, cross-chain identity resolution, and much more.

Roadmap: Testnet by Q3 2025, Mainnet in Early 2026

Picture Courtesy: coingape.com

Optimum has already launched a private testnet, and plans to roll out a public testnet by Q3 2025, beginning with support for Ethereum and Solana. The mainnet launch is slated for early 2026, along with a developer SDK and a GraphQL-like query interface that will make it easy for developers to integrate Optimum’s memory layer into their dApps.

The company is also exploring decentralized incentive models to encourage node operators to contribute storage and compute to the memory network. Potential token-based rewards and reputation systems are being discussed to ensure long-term sustainability and decentralization.

Final Word: Memory Powers Intelligence in Web3

As blockchains evolve from static ledgers into dynamic, programmable platforms, memory will become the foundation for a new era of intelligent dApps. From fraud detection to custom user experiences, the ability to “remember” is what separates smart systems from simply distributed ones.

Optimum’s mission is to fill that gap—giving the blockchain world its long-overdue memory layer. And with $11 million in fresh capital and support from some of the top minds in crypto and academia, it’s poised to do just that.

This isn’t just about data infrastructure. It’s about building the foundation for a smarter, more human-centric Web3 future.

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