Star-Studded Team Powers Optimum’s Latest Funding Round – Hype Soars with Unlimited Potential!

On April 15, according to official sources, Optimum, a decentralized, performance-enhancing memory layer compatible with any blockchain, has successfully raised $11 million in a seed funding round. The round was led by 1kx, with participation from Robot Ventures, Finality Capital, Spartan, and others.

About Optimum

Optimum is a high-performance memory infrastructure designed for any blockchain. Powered by Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC), Optimum can scale both Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, significantly improving dApp performance and end-user experience.

The core technology behind Optimum is based on Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) — a cutting-edge technique widely applied in 5G, IoT, and satellite communications. RLNC dramatically enhances network speed, throughput, and decentralization, thus boosting the overall responsiveness and efficiency of decentralized applications.

Core Team Behind Optimum

The Optimum team is led by a group of seasoned scientists, engineers, and VCs with deep roots in the crypto industry. Here’s an overview of the key team members:

1. Muriel Medard, Co-Founder & CEO

   • Professor at MIT, member of the Bell Labs Advisory Board, and former Chief Scientist at Steinwurf.

2. Kent Lin, Co-Founder & COO

   • Chairman of Harvard Blockchain, former Partner at GSRV.

   • Holds a Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering from NTU Singapore and an MBA from Harvard University.

Funding History

• Angel Round (Feb 28, 2025):
  Raised from prominent investors including Sandeep Nailwal, Arthur Cheong, Rand Hindi, Will Price, Ben Fisch, Richard Ma, Brecht Devos, and others. Amount undisclosed.

• Seed Round (Apr 15, 2025):
  Raised $11 million. Led by 1kx, with participation from Robot Ventures, CMT Digital, GSR, SNZ Holding, CMS Holdings, Blockdaemon, MH Ventures, Caladan, and others.

The Cutting-Edge Technology Behind Optimum

At the heart of Optimum is RLNC, a revolutionary technology developed over 15 years by Professor Muriel Medard. RLNC redefines how data is transmitted across blockchains by using random linear algebra operations for efficient encoding, transport, and decoding.

How RLNC Works:

1. Encoding:
   Data is split into packets, each multiplied by a random coefficient from a Galois Field to create encoded packets. These coefficients are attached to the payload for later decoding.

2. Stateless Re-Encoding:
   Intermediate nodes can re-encode packets without knowing the original content, allowing the network to adapt dynamically to real-time conditions.

3. Decoding:
   The receiver reconstructs the original data by collecting enough linearly independent encoded packets.

Conclusion

In summary, deploying RLNC in the blockchain ecosystem requires cross-disciplinary collaboration, merging coding theory, cryptography, and distributed systems design. Although Optimum has received strong backing from reputable institutions, its ultimate success will depend on technological maturity and ecosystem integration — both critical to breaking the current performance bottlenecks in blockchain infrastructure.