Metaverse infrastructure startup Render Network raises $30 million in token round

Quick Take

  • Render Network has raised funds in a round led by Multicoin Capital.
  • Multicoin Capital told The Block that this was a token round worth $30 million.

Render Network, a crypto startup that provides rendering tools to NFT and metaverse projects, has raised funds.

The startup did not disclose how much it has raised, but its lead investor, Multicoin Capital, told The Block that it has raised $30 million in a token round.

Other investors in the round included Alameda Research, the Solana Foundation, Sfermion, and angel investors Vinny Lingham and Bill Lee.

This is Render Network's first fundraise since its founding in 2017. Its sister company, Otoy, has over a decade of experience in rendering services.

What is rendering? 

Rendering is a process involved in producing digital media such as NFTs. It requires heavy computing resources.

Centralized rendering is done by data centers owned by large cloud providers. Render Network, on the other hand, allows anyone with a compatible GPU to share their idle computing power on the network and help carry out render jobs for artists and projects.

"For GPU providers, the Render Network provides a way to monetize their hardware when it is not in use, providing a source of income and a way to offset capital expenses with rendering hardware that they already use," Render Network founder Jules Urbach told The Block.

"For artists, it allows them to submit jobs on-demand to the tens of thousands of GPUs available on a peer-to-peer network at any given time."

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Artists then pay Render Network's node operators for completing their render jobs. The Render Network takes a "small transaction fee" from transactions to maintain and advance the network, said Urbach.

The Render Network and Otoy have handled rendering jobs for several artists, including Beeple and Pak, said Urbach.

Expansion plans

The Render Network is currently live on Ethereum and Polygon and is in the process of integrating support for Solana and Metaplex.

Urbach said a Render marketplace will also be built on Solana, enabling "one-click, frictionless purchasing flows for NFTs, 3D assets and services built with the Render Network."

To that end, the project is looking to double its team and also grow its community. Urbach did not comment on Render's current headcount.

The network is also working on a new decentralization plan, said Urbach, which will outline the network's strategy over the next three years. "The goal of this plan is to put the future of the network fully in the hands of its users and the community through web3 incentives and novel governance structures," he added.


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About Author

Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.