Telos Secures $1M in Funding From Presto Labs to Develop SNARKtor-Powered L2 and SNARKtor Labs

Today, Telos announced that it has accepted a strategic investment of $1 million USD from Presto Labs, a leading Asian venture capital firm and liquidity provider with a proven track record in algorithmic trading. This capital raise marks the beginning of a long-term partnership between the two organizations, with the funds being allocated to the development of the new SNARKtor-powered Ethereum Layer 2 zkEVM network being developed by Telos. The capital will also support the growth of SNARKtor Labs, Telos' Hong Kong-based business unit focused on accelerating Telos' ZK-proving technology infrastructure. SNARKtor Labs' corporate mandate stipulates that its interests must be fully aligned with those of the TLOS token, driving value to the token directly or indirectly. Any profits earned by the entity will be used to buy and hold TLOS on its balance sheet.

Telos and Presto Labs' teams will work together with a special focus on the Asia Pacific region, which has become a hub for Web3 innovation and investment. Executive Director John Lilic revealed plans for Telos' new zkEVM L2 during his recent keynote speech at TOKEN2049 in Dubai, where Telos was one of the event's title sponsors. Presto's investment will help expedite the completion of the L2, which Telos is co-developing with leading ZK research firm, Ponos Technology.

"Presto Labs is one of the best in the world at what they do and partnering with them is going to be of great benefit to the Telos team and community," said Lilic on the new alliance. "Our organization looks forward to efficiently deploying this new capital to enhance the growth of our new network and to bolster the impact that SNARKtor Labs can have as we work to educate the world on the effectiveness of ZK technology at scale."

Presto Labs was founded in Singapore in 2014 and has since provided funding for many leading pioneers in the blockchain development space. The Presto team views Telos' recent innovations in the ZK-proving space, starting with SNARKtor, as a leading indicator of the powerful role the project can play in the years to come when it comes to this nascent technology.

"We always take a data-driven and technology-focused approach, and we were extremely impressed with what Telos is building and wanted to be a part of it," said Presto Labs co-founder Yongjin Kim. "This is the start of a long-term partnership between our two teams that can play a significant role in the mainstream adoption of blockchain through technology that has practical global use cases like the new network Telos is building."

Telos launched in 2018 through a fair drop network launch that did not include a token sale or ICO. Since its inception, the Telos Foundation has overseen two primary networks, Telos EVM and Telos Zero, and is now also focused on working with partners like Presto Labs to develop a highly performant and succinctly provable SNARKtor-powered L2 zkEVM. Telos and Presto Labs' new partnership will also include additional initiatives largely concentrated in Asia, where a significant portion of the two entities' work will be based out of.