KRNL Labs

KRNL Labs is a UK Web3 infrastructure company building an open, modular software library that enables developers to create decentralised applications capable of operating across multiple blockchain networks simultaneously. Founded in 2022 and headquartered in London, the company has developed a protocol that functions as the package manager of Web3 — enabling teams to install, compose, and monetise reusable functions, called kernels, across different blockchain environments without rebuilding cross-chain infrastructure from scratch.

The blockchain ecosystem has fragmented significantly since the emergence of Ethereum as the dominant smart contract platform. Dozens of Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks now host substantial user bases and liquidity pools, each with different trade-offs in speed, cost, security, and programmability. For developers building applications that want to serve the broadest possible audience, the result is a difficult choice: build for one chain and accept its limitations, or invest heavily in bespoke cross-chain infrastructure. Cross-chain development is technically demanding — managing state reads, transaction execution, and communication across multiple networks involves deep protocol expertise that most application teams do not have.

KRNL addresses this by innovating at the RPC node level, using an enhanced Geth client with a custom GraphQL runtime that allows decentralised applications to offload execution tasks across supported chains and integrate Web2 infrastructure. The protocol supports asynchronous composability across diverse execution environments, giving developers a cleaner API surface and reducing the time and cost of building cross-chain products. At launch, KRNL featured adapters for all major EVM networks and OpenAPI integration for Web2, with ongoing expansion to non-EVM networks.

The company raised £1.3 million in a pre-seed round from Blockchain Founders Fund, Builder Capital, Ryze Labs, and WAGMI Ventures. The funding is being used to expand chain coverage, grow the developer community, and develop tooling to make cross-chain development as accessible as single-chain development. Co-founders Tahir Mahmood — inventor of more than 40 patents including foundational push email technology — and Asim Ahmad, formerly of BlackRock and founding partner of blockchain VC firm Eterna Capital, bring complementary technical and investment expertise to the company.