- Unto Labs raised $14.4 million from Electric Capital and Framework Ventures
- The funding supports ThruVM, a RISC-V based virtual machine
- The team plans to grow from 5 to 10 employees this year
Unto Labs, a newly emerging blockchain company, is positioning itself as a competitor to established players like Ethereum and Solana by developing a new infrastructure designed to overcome long-standing limitations in the crypto development landscape. Co-founded by former Ethereum and Solana engineer Liam Heeger and Will Yoo, formerly of Misfits Market, the company is taking a different approach to blockchain architecture with the aim of making development more accessible and hardware-compatible.
Breaking Free from Traditional Crypto Virtual Machines
Current blockchain ecosystems such as Ethereum and Solana rely heavily on bespoke virtual machines (VMs) and domain-specific languages. These crypto-specific tools, while functional, often pose barriers to entry for developers who come from traditional software backgrounds. The result is a siloed development environment that struggles to integrate with mainstream industry standards.
According to Heeger, virtual machines used in today’s leading blockchains limit innovation due to their incompatibility with common computing hardware. These VMs are typically designed specifically for blockchain use and are not flexible enough to support broader development practices, leaving out a vast pool of conventional software engineers.
Introducing ThruVM: The Core of the Thru Blockchain
Unto Labs is building a new virtual machine called ThruVM, which is designed to serve as the execution layer for the upcoming Thru blockchain. Unlike traditional blockchain VMs, ThruVM is based on RISC-V, an open standard instruction set architecture widely used outside the blockchain space. RISC-V is favored in general computing environments for its simplicity, extensibility, and compatibility with modern hardware.
By leveraging RISC-V, ThruVM aims to provide developers with better access to familiar tooling, greater performance efficiency, and direct hardware interaction that’s often absent in crypto-native development environments. This design could reduce friction for new developers, especially those who are not deeply immersed in the blockchain sector.
“RISC-V maps better to conventional hardware that you would find in a server or in a laptop,” Heeger noted. “There are performance benefits, there are developer benefits, there’s more tooling.”
How Unto Labs Plans to Monetize the Thru Blockchain
Unlike Ethereum, which generates revenue through gas fees and a decentralized ecosystem of applications, Unto Labs intends to take a more centralized business approach. The company will build its own applications on the Thru blockchain and directly charge users for access and usage. As of now, Unto Labs has no revenue streams but plans to develop proprietary software offerings that will generate income for the company.
Heeger emphasized that this model allows more control over product design and monetization strategy, diverging from the fully open-source route taken by other platforms. This approach could also lead to faster product iteration and clearer value capture for the company.
Building the Core Team at Unto Labs
With an initial team of five employees, Unto Labs is looking to double its headcount by the end of the year. The company recently raised funding to support this growth, although the specific amount raised was not disclosed. The new hires will be focused on both the technical development of the Thru blockchain and the creation of the company’s own applications that will run on it.
The co-founders bring diverse experience to the venture. Liam Heeger spent two years as a core engineer at Ethereum and Solana, gaining firsthand experience with the limitations of current blockchain infrastructures. Will Yoo brings operational experience from his time at Misfits Market, a company known for optimizing supply chain logistics in the grocery delivery space.
Unto Labs and the Competitive Blockchain Landscape
Unto Labs is entering a highly competitive space. Ethereum continues to dominate in smart contract volume and ecosystem size, while Solana is known for its speed and throughput. Unto Labs’ differentiation hinges on its use of RISC-V, its intent to lower the barrier for non-crypto developers, and its focus on developing its own suite of blockchain-based applications.
The Thru blockchain will support standard blockchain functions—processing transactions, enabling application development, and facilitating decentralized finance tools—while prioritizing compatibility and ease of use for a broader developer base.
Potential Benefits of ThruVM and RISC-V Integration
- Hardware Compatibility: Direct alignment with mainstream computing hardware enables higher performance and lower resource consumption.
- Expanded Developer Access: Developers from outside the crypto ecosystem can build without learning specialized crypto tooling or languages.
- Tooling Ecosystem: By adopting a system already supported by global hardware and software communities, ThruVM may benefit from robust pre-existing tooling.
- Performance Optimization: RISC-V allows developers to write code that is closer to hardware, enabling better optimization for specific tasks.
Technical Shift with Strategic Implications
The decision to base the ThruVM on RISC-V reflects a larger trend in blockchain innovation—moving away from closed, niche systems and toward more open, standard-compliant architectures. If successful, this could influence other blockchain projects to reconsider the technical foundations of their own execution environments.
This architectural pivot also sets the stage for potentially better integration with other computing infrastructures, such as cloud services, on-premises hardware, and IoT devices.
Conclusion
Unto Labs is entering the blockchain space with a fresh architectural approach centered on accessibility and hardware compatibility. By replacing crypto-specific virtual machines with ThruVM, built on the open RISC-V standard, the company aims to lower barriers for traditional developers. This shift could expand blockchain adoption beyond crypto-native circles. With a business model focused on building and monetizing in-house applications, Unto Labs differentiates itself from open-source-driven ecosystems. Backed by a small but growing team, the company plans to double its workforce by year’s end and accelerate development of its Thru blockchain. Its success will depend on execution and market reception in a highly competitive landscape.
Disclaimer
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