Squid, a New York-based cross-chain infrastructure provider, has raised $6M in strategic funding led by North Island Ventures. The platform enables seamless token swaps, bridges, and value routing across 100+ chains and 20k+ tokens in a single transaction via intent-based execution. The capital will support expansion into new chains, consumer products, and monetization through transaction fees.
Cross-Chain Funding Draws Strategic Backers
The round comes as investors target infrastructure that abstracts multi-chain complexity. North Island Ventures led the round, with participation from Ripple, Dialectic, Borderless, and angels from Axelar and Ledger. LI.FI previously raised $52M, while Hyperbridge secured $5.65M total including a $2.8M IRO in March 2025. Squid differentiates through native Axelar integration and broad non-EVM support.
Bridge Exploits Highlight Security Gaps
Cross-chain activity has grown amid persistent security risks. Eight major bridge attacks in 2026 resulted in $328.6M in losses. Squid has processed over $6B in volume with zero exploits after nine audits and 99.99% uptime. The company aggregates 130+ DEXs and supports EVM, Solana, Bitcoin, Cosmos, XRPL, and other ecosystems without wrapped tokens.
Intent-Based Execution Reduces Friction
Squid routes value through real-time solver auctions for sub-second execution and near-zero fees. Its Squid Intents architecture allows one-click swaps plus contract calls across fragmented liquidity. This contrasts with middleware-focused competitors like LI.FI or Jumper Exchange, which emphasize developer integrations over end-user routing speed.
As Fig, co-founder, noted:
"The vision is to make directly accessing whatever you need in crypto as simple as the cross-chain swaps Squid already handles today."
Strategic Investors Validate Interoperability Thesis
North Island Ventures focuses on early-stage crypto infrastructure with a $300M+ AUM portfolio that includes ether.fi and the IPO'd Figure. Ripple's participation aligns with Squid's XRPL integrations, including its role as the official bridge to the XRPL EVM Sidechain. Total funding now stands at $13.5M.
Interoperability Market Expands Rapidly
The blockchain interoperability market is projected to grow from $464.81M in 2025 to $4.92B by 2035 at a 28.3% CAGR. Cross-chain stablecoin bridge volume reached $2.1T with 40%+ CAGR. Squid's 1K+ integrators, including MetaMask and Circle, position it to capture demand as chains proliferate and intent-based solvers replace legacy bridges.
Recent exploits underscore the value of audited platforms. Squid's non-custodial design and MCP server for AI assistants like Claude add further differentiation in a market where security and UX determine adoption.