Solana Layer 2 network, Sonic, has successfully raised $12 million in a Series A funding round, boosting its fully diluted token valuation to $100 million. This funding round was spearheaded by Bitkraft Ventures, with participation from Galaxy Interactive, Big Brain Holdings, and several other investors, according to founder and CEO Chris Zhu.
Sonic, a Solana Layer 2 network specializing in gaming, has now secured a total of $16 million in funding, following a previous $4 million seed round in 2022. The recent Series A round, which began in April and concluded earlier this month, was structured as equity with token warrants. Notably, Bitkraft has also taken a seat on Sonic’s board as part of this deal.
What is Sonic?
Sonic is a cutting-edge gaming-focused Solana Layer 2 network, developed by Mirror World Labs (MWL). Utilizing MWL’s proprietary HyperGrid Framework technology, Sonic enables horizontal scaling via rollups on Solana. “Sonic offers an exceptionally fast on-chain game experience, powered by Solana Virtual Machine (SVM), at minimal cost,” says Chris Zhu. This allows developers to “seamlessly deploy dApps [decentralized applications] from Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains to Solana via HyperGrid’s interpreter.”
Justin Swart, principal at Bitkraft Ventures, believes Sonic SVM will soon become “the go-to destination for any gaming studio that wants to build games within the Solana ecosystem.”
Originally, Sonic started as a mobile game, but Zhu notes the project soon recognized the lack of gaming infrastructure. The shared Solana layer posed challenges for applications to internalize value due to its generic design. Sonic aims to address these issues by providing custom features such as privacy, instant settlements, asset transfer rules, and compliance.
Key Developments and Future Plans
Sonic’s existing mobile game serves as a demo for technical documentation. Additionally, the project has developed a decentralized application called World Store, an asset aggregator to help game studios distribute and settle assets. According to Zhu, the Layer 2 network is Sonic’s final tool to boost gaming adoption on Solana.
Sonic’s primary competitors include Eclipse, which is building an SVM Layer 2 on Ethereum, as well as Ronin Chain and Redstone Network.
Upcoming Mainnet and Token Launch
Currently, Sonic is operating on devnet, with five gaming studios already building with its technology. Later this week, Sonic will launch its incentivized testnet campaign, “Odyssey,” enabling users to send transactions, play games, and earn “rings” for their on-chain activities. While rings are similar to points and won’t be directly converted into Sonic’s token, contributors will receive rewards.
Sonic’s mainnet and its native token are set to launch in the third quarter of this year. To support this growth, Sonic plans to expand its core developer team, developer relations team, and marketing team globally. With a current headcount of 20, Sonic’s core team is based in New York.
Moreover, Sonic has established a $20 million grants and acceleration program to onboard game developers onto its platform. This program includes a mix of token grants, token swap deals, and stablecoins or fiat.
In summary, Sonic’s innovative approach to gaming on the Solana network, coupled with robust financial backing and strategic partnerships, positions it as a significant player in the blockchain gaming industry.
