Mawari Network Secures $10.8 Million Funding

Mawari Network, a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) built on Solana, has successfully raised $10.8 million in a strategic funding round.

Funding Details

The funding round was co-led by Anfield Ltd, Borderless Capital, and 1kx, with notable participation from Accord Ventures, Animoca Brands Japan, Blockchange Ventures, Draper Dragon, Samsung Next, and other investors. Angel investors joining the round include Sean Carey, co-founder of Helium and partner at Borderless Capital; Joshua Frank, co-founder and CEO of The Tie; Pete Townsend, leader at Techstars Web3; and Ivan Brightly, former chief information security officer at Galaxy Digital.

As part of the agreement, Sean Carey will join Mawari Network’s board of directors, according to Mawari co-founder and CEO Luis Oscar Ramirez.

Mawari began its funding efforts in March and closed the round last week. The funding was structured as a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) with token warrants. Ramirez did not disclose the company’s valuation.

This funding round increases Mawari’s total capital to $17.3 million, following a previous $6.5 million raise in February 2023.

What is Mawari Network?

Mawari is a DePIN project based on Solana that aims to scale spatial computing—a fusion of the physical world with digital information, enabling interaction through technologies like AR, VR, and XR.

The term Mawari translates to “your surroundings” or “look around” in Japanese, reflecting the project’s origins. Ramirez and co-founder Takeo Yatabe initiated this venture in 2016 during the MUTEK Japan digital arts festival, recognizing the potential and challenges in XR.

In 2017, they identified issues such as data intensity and scalability for artists in creating immersive content, leading them to explore solutions.

In 2018, Mawari collaborated with Japanese telecom giant KDDI to stream an AI-powered digital human, Aiko, to AR glasses. This experience highlighted existing technology limitations, propelling the development of the Mawari Engine and the establishment of Mawari Network in 2022.

Mawari Network facilitates real-time 3D content delivery to VR, AR, and XR devices, akin to how Netflix streams video content. The network manages rendering on powerful global computers, allowing devices to deliver immersive experiences without heavy processing requirements.

Competition and Development

Mawari differentiates itself from competitors like Render Network (RNDR), as it offers real-time rendering while Render operates offline. In the Web2 space, companies like Hololight provide XR streaming services for industrial use but rely on services like AWS and GCP, which are seen as potential vulnerabilities.

Mawari holds three patents, with 11 more pending related to 3D streaming, and serves around 40 clients, including T-Mobile, Netflix, and BMW, averaging $1.5 million in annual revenue.

Future Plans

The network is currently developing on Solana’s devnet and plans to launch its mainnet in Q1 of next year. Additionally, Mawari is preparing for a node license sale in Q4 of this year to enhance its infrastructure, which will include spatial streamer nodes, verifier nodes, and application nodes. Though the target funding for this sale hasn’t been determined, the primary goal is decentralization and adequate supply for phase 1 launch.

With a current team of 20 employees, Ramirez plans to hire an additional 5-6 staff for network engineering, business development, and marketing roles.

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