Commonware secures $9 million for blockchain tools

Commonware, a startup focused on developing advanced blockchain tools, has successfully raised $9 million in a funding round co-led by Haun Ventures and Dragonfly Capital.

The company aims to provide developers with customizable blockchain primitives that allow for precise network tuning.

Founded by former Ava Labs executive Patrick O’Grady, Commonware seeks to move beyond traditional software frameworks by offering what it describes as an “anti-framework.”

This approach provides developers with all the necessary building blocks to create tailored blockchain solutions without being constrained by standardised kits.

“Today, if you want to launch your own chain you deploy a rollup, an app chain, or maybe an avs [Avalanche subnet] using one of a handful of blockchain frameworks,” wrote Breck Stodghill from Haun Ventures in a blog post.

He noted that many widely used frameworks are outdated and burdened with technical debt, making them unsuitable for specific application needs.

Commonware's building blocks are designed to be modular, allowing developers to mix and match components as required.

“This stack has no explicit layers. No specific security assumption,” O’Grady explained.

He emphasised that the system is flexible and adaptable, lacking hardcoded definitions for block types, state layouts, and execution rules.

While existing crypto toolkits offer some customization, O’Grady pointed out that frameworks like Cosmos’ SDK and Ethereum scaling solutions often lead developers into restrictive situations.

The first tool released by Commonware is called consensus::simplex, which is part of a series of upcoming “consensus dialects.”

This follows previous releases such as the communication tool p2p::authenticated and the optimisation tool runtime::deterministic.

Before launching Commonware, O’Grady held the position of vice president of engineering at Ava Labs and was instrumental in launching Rosetta at Coinbase.

Commonware plans to onboard three teams to utilise its tools for building applications across various security assumptions, including Layer 0, Layer 1, Layer 2, and external decentralised applications.

This funding round positions Commonware as a significant player in the evolving landscape of blockchain development tools.