Solana-based DePIN project Andrena raises $18 million to offer decentralized internet services

Andrena, the developer of a Solana-based decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) protocol aimed at providing decentralized internet services, has raised $18 million in a funding round led by Dragonfly.

Other investors in the round include CMT Digital, Castle Island Ventures, Wintermute Ventures, 6th Man Ventures and ParaFi, Andrena said Wednesday. This was a Series A extension round and structured as a simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) with token warrants, Andrena co-founder Neil Chatterjee told The Block. The round was "significantly oversubscribed," Chatterjee said, with Andrena initially targeting $5 million but ultimately raising more in tranches earlier this year "to get us properly to token generation event or TGE."

The Series A extension round brings Andrena's total funding to $38 million, Chatterjee said. He declined to comment on valuation or whether any investors have taken board seats. Last year, Andrena raised $15 million in a Series A round, also led by Dragonfly.

Andrena building DAWN

Andrena is developing DAWN (decentralized autonomous wireless network), a Solana-based DePIN protocol designed to offer decentralized internet services.

"DAWN has been in the works since the fall of last year," Chatterjee said. "DAWN aims to do to the internet what solar panels did to electricity. The same way consumers own and generate their own utility and sell their excess back to the grid, there is now an opportunity to do the same with wireless home and business Internet."

Andrena collaborated with Pramod Viswanath, a Princeton University professor, to implement "proof of backhaul" for DAWN. Proof of backhaul ensures that a node has a functional connection to the broader internet. Chatterjee said that Viswanath developed the algorithm for proof of backhaul, which is a key component of DAWN's trustless system. Notably, Viswanath is a core contributor to Sentient, an open-source AI development platform, along with Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal and others. Sentient recently raised $85 million in a seed funding round.

Founded in 2016, Andrena has been providing internet services since 2019 across 10 U.S. states, including New York, New Jersey, Texas, Tennessee, Florida and Pennsylvania, using wireless equipment installed on hundreds of rooftops. The firm now plans to gradually migrate its existing customers and revenues on-chain starting from the yet-to-be-decided token launch date.

How DAWN will work

DAWN will allow users to buy its native token through a mobile app, which can then be used to purchase internet bandwidth from the community, Chatterjee said. The mobile app will be connected to a home hardware device with an antenna that will provide and share internet access, he added.

DAWN will reward users for staying connected, referring others and participating as validators. Each 24-hour connected period, for example, is eligible for 1,440 reward points, according to DAWN's website.

At launch, DAWN's wireless network will cover over 3 million households in the U.S., with plans to expand globally to Asia, Europe and Latin America, Chatterjee said.

DAWN is currently operating on a testnet and will launch on Solana. Chatterjee declined to comment on the timelines for the mainnet and token launch.

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