News
gumi Cryptos Capital is proud to announce our investment in Union, a cross-chain protocol designed for messaging, intents, and chain abstraction—a settlement layer for all execution environments. We led the $12M Series A, with participation from Longhash Ventures, Borderless Capital and many others, including the founders of Polygon, Movement, and Berachain.
Thesis
Blockchain fragmentation remains the biggest unsolved problem in crypto. The proliferation of app-specific blockchains, rollups, and L1s—fueled by trade-offs in developer tooling, network effects, liquidity, customization, and monetization—has left a growing mess. Trapped liquidity, siloed applications, and fractured user experiences are now the norm. The problem is exacerbated by the rapid growth in economic value secured by blockchains, as splintering ecosystems amplify inefficiencies, making the need for a definitive solution more urgent than ever. In order to solve this problem, we need an interoperability protocol that is trust minimized, censorship resistant, scalable, and usable.
We believe that Union is the ultimate solution to this problem that can scale to all chains. By engineering an interoperability layer that facilitates secure communication between blockchains via consensus verification and state-of-the-art cryptography, Union has pioneered a trustless interoperability layer without relying on centralized intermediaries like multisigs or oracles. Union extends IBC, the most secure and flexible standard for cross-chain communication, to all execution environments and chains, enabling trustless, decentralized interactions through light clients creating a truly composable and future-proof interoperability layer.
By not compromising on security, Union eliminates traditional bridging risks and sets a new benchmark for cross-chain interactions. This secure foundation doesn’t just mitigate vulnerabilities—it unlocks a vast design space for innovation. Union isn’t just an interoperability protocol or bridge; it’s a transformative infrastructure layer, capable of supporting entirely new paradigms. From advanced use cases like intent-based transactions, to becoming a settlement layer for cross-ecosystem transactions, Union redefines how blockchains interact and evolve, and enables developers to build applications without being siloed to their own ecosystems.
What truly sets Union apart is its ability to combine unparalleled security with unmatched cost and performance. By using consensus verification, Union is the most secure solution available today. At the same time, its cutting-edge ZK technology and optimized infrastructure deliver the fastest proving times and the lowest costs in the market. Union’s architecture is infinitely scalable, leveraging zero-knowledge proofs and light client technology to aggregate proofs and integrate thousands of chains without bottlenecks. This scalability drives powerful network effects—the more chains and applications that integrate with Union, the more valuable and robust it will become. ZK technology is not only a cornerstone of security but also a powerful driver of cost efficiency. By enabling aggregation of proofs and transactions, it reduces overhead and scales seamlessly, amplifying network effects as more chains and users integrate.
The future of blockchains requires a foundation that is antifragile, resistant to exploitation, and infinitely scalable. Without these qualities, the ecosystem remains vulnerable to the same risks and inefficiencies that plague it today. Union provides this strong, trustless base, enabling a secure and resilient infrastructure for the next generation of decentralized innovation.
Team
Union is led by what we consider to be an Olympian quality founding team, each bringing complementary strengths and a shared vision for building secure, sustainable, and scalable systems that align with crypto’s core ideals:
- Karel Kubat (CEO): A visionary founder and leader, Karel combines deep technical expertise with a forward-looking perspective on where blockchains are headed. His ability to bridge technical innovation with strategic foresight ensures Union is not only solving today’s challenges but shaping the future of our industry. As a highly technical yet big-picture thinker, Karel is steering Union’s mission to unify fragmented ecosystems with transformative infrastructure.
- Cor Pruis (CTO): A 10x engineer with unparalleled expertise in IBC, Substrate, and low-level blockchain engineering, Cor is the technical architect behind Union’s innovations. His mastery of complex systems and protocol design ensures Union’s solutions are cutting-edge, robust, and infinitely scalable. Cor’s engineering prowess drives the technical excellence that sets Union apart.
- Emir Beriker (Head of Strategy): With a sharp focus on execution and strategic alignment, Emir is the driving force behind Union’s partnerships and long-term growth. His ability to build relationships and identify opportunities ensures Union’s vision is realized across the ecosystem. Emir’s strategic acumen positions Union as a leader in the blockchain space.
Union’s team is driven by a philosophy that blends hardcore engineering with a steadfast commitment to crypto’s core values of decentralization, censorship resistance, and user sovereignty. Every design decision is grounded in rigorous technical principles and guided by the belief that interoperability should be trustless, secure, and permissionless—without compromise. After spending much time getting to know and working closely with the Union team, we have built immense conviction in them. We are deep believers in their unparalleled technical expertise, their relentless ability to execute, and, above all, their sheer force of will to drive Union’s vision forward. This is a team that doesn’t just build—they deliver, and we are confident they will set a new standard for blockchain infrastructure.
Conclusion
We’re proud to invest in Union, a project set to redefine interoperability and bring cohesion to the fragmented crypto landscape. Join the Union community and learn more at https://union.build/
Disclaimer
Information is provided for general educational purposes only. This presentation is not an offer to sell securities or a solicitation of offers to buy securities. Nothing contained herein constitutes investment or other advice nor is it to be relied on in making an investment decision. For more important information, please see disclaimer
