Igloo, Inc, the parent company of Popular NFT brand Pudgy penguinshas raised over $11 million in funding to develop a new system Ethereum layer-2 scale network called Abstract, the company announced Tuesday.
The funding round was led by Founders Fund, with additional investments from Fenbushi Capital, 1kx, Everest Ventures Group and Selini Capital.
Igloo will use the funds to create Cube Labs, a new venture that will oversee the development of Abstract, an Ethereum layer-2 network. In June, Igloo announced the acquisition of Framean NFT-centric layer 2 network, with plans to have that team contribute to Abstract.
“While building Pudgy Penguins, we came to the unfortunate truth that today’s L2s were not built for the consumer crypto revolution,” Luca Netz, CEO of Igloo Inc. tweeted last month. “This acquisition allows us to address these challenges head-on and create an ecosystem that supports and enhances the crypto experience for consumers.”
Teaser artwork for Abstract. Image: Igloo/Cube Labs
Igloo Inc. says Abstract, which will soon launch its testnet, is designed to enable building decentralized apps (dapps) simpler, cheaper and more secure using zero-knowledge cryptography.
“Our vision is to change the dynamics of how users interact with blockchain technology and easily merge both the real and digital worlds,” Netz said in a press release.
Pudgy Penguins launched in the heart of the 2021 NFT bull run, but the original team lost community support in the months that followed.
Netz and his team acquired the project IP in 2022 and built it into a consumer brand, including toys launched last year and expanded to retailers such as Walmart and Target. Now Pudgy Penguins is one of the most valuable NFT projects out there, with his original Ethereum profile photos (PFPs) from a price higher than the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Editor’s note: This article was written with the help of AI. Edited and fact-checked by Andrew Hayward.