Essential Raises $5.15 Million in Seed Funding for Intent-Based Infrastructure
Essential, a startup focused on intent-based infrastructure, has secured $5.15 million in seed funding. The round was led by Maven 11, with participation from Robot Ventures, Karatage, Batuhan Dasgin, Skip, James Prestwich, Brandon Curtis, Eclipse founder Neel Somani, and others.
Founded earlier this year, Essential aims to transform transaction supply chains in the crypto industry by reducing the influence of “rent-seeking intermediaries” and benefiting users. The company is developing intent-based infrastructure, which is a new technology that proponents believe will enhance user experience and efficiency in blockchains.
A New Approach: Intent-Based Systems
In an intent-based system, users express their desired outcome rather than providing specific instructions to be executed. This enables exposure to multiple on-chain solutions instead of being limited to a single pathway provided by a particular app.
For example, when swapping tokens on a decentralized exchange (DEX), users typically interact only with the DEX and its smart contract. However, with an intent-based system, users can simply state their desired action and the system will find the best solution available on-chain.
Building Core Infrastructure
Essential’s current focus is on developing core infrastructure components. This includes an intent standard for Ethereum, a domain-specific language (DSL) for expressing intents, and a fully intent-centric blockchain protocol.
The startup has made progress since closing its seed round in April. It has designed and proposed an ERC (Ethereum request for comment) to enable composability for intent-centric products on Ethereum and other EVM chains. Additionally, Essential has been working on the DSL that will form the foundation of its planned protocol.
Aiming for a Better User Experience
The Essential team recognizes that the current transaction-based model in blockchain interactions leads to a poor user experience. By adopting an intent-based approach, the company aims to provide a user experience comparable to Web2 while eliminating intermediaries and walled gardens.
According to Balder Bomans, managing partner at Maven 11, “The better alternative is to instead work based off of user-expressed intents, which we believe will pave the way for UX that rivals Web2 UX — but without the intermediaries and walled gardens that are inherent to Web2.”
Hot Take: Essential Revolutionizing Crypto with Intent-Based Infrastructure
Essential’s seed funding of $5.15 million highlights the growing interest in intent-based infrastructure within the crypto industry. By focusing on user-expressed intents rather than rigid instructions, Essential aims to enhance user experience and efficiency in blockchain interactions. The startup’s core infrastructure components, including an intent standard for Ethereum and a domain-specific language, are paving the way for a fully intent-centric blockchain protocol. With this approach, Essential seeks to eliminate rent-seeking intermediaries and provide a user experience comparable to Web2. This funding round demonstrates investor confidence in the potential of intent-based systems to transform the crypto landscape.
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