Unto Labs
San Francisco, US · Founded 2024 · Delaware corporation · 4 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
Unto Labs builds Thru, a base-layer blockchain that applies high-performance computing principles to distributed systems for scalability and performance. The company targets developers building on its blockchain platform.
Also known as Unto · Unto-Labs
Founders & leadership
Unto Labs was founded in 2024 by Will Yoo and Liam H..
Investors · 2
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$14.4M disclosed across 1 round · 2025
▶$14.4MraisedApr 2025 · 3 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- William YooExecutive Officer, Director
- Liam HeegerExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $14.4M
- Amount sold
- $14.4M
- First sale
- Apr 2025
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2024
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Valuation · disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Unto Labs is a San Francisco-based blockchain infrastructure company developing Thru, a planned base-layer blockchain, and ThruVM, its accompanying virtual machine. The company positions its work at the physical limits of distributed systems, applying high-performance computing principles to achieve scale in global, decentralized systems, and describes its team as coming from established blockchain firms.
The technical premise is that the crypto-specific virtual machines and domain-specific programming languages used by existing chains constrain development and deter developers who are not crypto-native. In response, ThruVM is being built around RISC-V, an instruction set architecture widely used outside crypto, which co-founder Liam Heeger describes as mapping more directly onto conventional server and laptop hardware and as offering performance, developer experience, and tooling advantages. The Thru blockchain is intended to support transactions, interaction with existing crypto applications, and the construction of blockchain-based financial tools, placing it in direct competition with Solana and Ethereum.
The company maintains a public GitHub organization, Unto-Labs, hosting the TypeScript-based "thru" repository and "vcache," a compilation cache for C, C++ and Rust released under Apache-2.0.
Founding story
Unto Labs was co-founded in late 2024 by Liam Heeger and Will Yoo. Heeger had spent two years as a core engineer at Jump Crypto working on Firedancer, a client that connects computers to the Solana blockchain, and left in January to pursue his own venture; Jump Crypto sued, alleging he was creating a competitive business, and the parties settled before the company was publicly announced. Yoo previously worked at the grocery delivery company Misfits Market.
Business model
The company states it intends to generate revenue by building its own applications on the Thru blockchain and charging users directly for them. As of the April 2025 funding announcement, it had no source of revenue.
Direct charges for first-party applications built by Unto Labs on top of the Thru blockchain; no revenue as of April 2025.
Traction
As of the April 2025 funding announcement the Thru blockchain was still planned rather than launched, the company had five employees and no revenue, and the proceeds were designated for hiring. Public open-source activity includes the "thru" repository with 29 stars and 16 forks and the "vcache" repository, both showing commits updated as of August 2026.
Latest developments
On April 29, 2025 the company disclosed a $14.4 million combined pre-seed and seed round at a $140 million valuation, with Framework Ventures leading the pre-seed and Electric Capital the seed, and said it would use the capital to double headcount from five to ten by the end of the year. A corresponding filing for a $14.4 million offering was recorded the same day. Repositories in the company's GitHub organization show commit activity updated through August 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
An early-stage entrant in base-layer blockchain infrastructure, competing with established networks such as Ethereum and Solana. At its April 2025 announcement it was pre-launch, pre-revenue, and had five employees, backed by crypto-focused investors Framework Ventures and Electric Capital at a $140 million valuation.
Unto Labs differentiates on its use of RISC-V for smart contract execution instead of a crypto-specific virtual machine and domain-specific language, arguing that such tooling constrains blockchain development and blocks mainstream industry adoption. The intended effect is to make the chain approachable to developers without prior crypto experience while gaining hardware-level performance and tooling advantages.
Technology
Thru is a planned base-layer blockchain paired with ThruVM, a virtual machine built on the RISC-V instruction set rather than a bespoke crypto virtual machine. The stated rationale is that RISC-V maps more closely to the hardware found in ordinary servers and laptops, yielding performance benefits, better developer ergonomics, and access to a wider tooling ecosystem. The company describes its broader approach as applying high-performance computing principles to distributed systems. Public repositories include "thru" (TypeScript) and "vcache," a verified compilation cache for C, C++ and Rust.
Go-to-market
The company plans to attract developers, particularly those outside the crypto-native community, by offering conventional tooling through a RISC-V-based virtual machine, and to monetize by shipping and charging for its own applications on the network. Public open-source repositories accompany the effort.
Software developers, including those without prior crypto experience, who would build on the Thru blockchain, along with end users transacting, interacting with existing crypto applications, and using blockchain-based financial tools.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, with an address recorded at 2261 Market Street; the blockchain itself is aimed at global, decentralized deployment.
History
The company was co-founded in late 2024 and publicly emerged on April 29, 2025, when it announced a combined $14.4 million pre-seed and seed round led by Framework Ventures and Electric Capital, respectively, at a $140 million valuation. At announcement the team numbered five, with a stated plan to reach ten by year end. Public code repositories under the Unto-Labs GitHub organization showed activity through August 2026.
Risks & controversies
Co-founder Liam Heeger's departure from Jump Crypto in January prompted a lawsuit from his former employer alleging he was building a competitive business; the parties settled the case before Unto Labs was announced. The company was pre-revenue and its blockchain unlaunched at the time of its funding announcement, and it competes with well-established networks including Ethereum and Solana.
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsUnto Labs announced a combined round of $14.4 million, with Framework Ventures leading the pre-seed portion and Electric Capital leading the seed portion, at a stated $140 million valuation. Proceeds were earmarked for hiring, with the goal of growing the team from five to ten people by the end of the year.
$14.4M source ↗
An initial filing was reported covering an offering of $14.4 million, categorized as a venture round of undisclosed series, with the company located at 2261 Market Street, San Francisco, California.
$14.4M source ↗
Liam Heeger left Jump Crypto, where he had spent two years as a core engineer on the Firedancer Solana client, to start his own venture. Jump Crypto filed a lawsuit alleging he was creating a competitive business; the parties settled before Unto Labs was announced.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- Unto Labs · GitHubgithub.com · web
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Unto Labs do?
- Unto Labs is a San Francisco startup building Thru, a blockchain with a RISC-V virtual machine called ThruVM.
- Who founded Unto Labs?
- Unto Labs was founded by Will Yoo, Liam H. in 2024.
- Who are Unto Labs's investors?
- Unto Labs's investors include Electric Capital, Framework Ventures.
- How much funding has Unto Labs raised?
- Unto Labs has disclosed $14.4M raised across 1 round.
- Where is Unto Labs headquartered?
- Unto Labs is headquartered in San Francisco, US.