DAWN, a decentralized protocol designed to provide a multigigabit broadband service owned and operated by users, said it raised $13 million in a Series B funding round led by Polychain Capital.
The money will be used to expand the Solana-based protocol’s network coverage across the United States and roll out international deployments, according to an announcement shared with CoinDesk on Thursday.
The New York-based project allows individuals and organizations to act as network hosts by deploying wireless nodes that provide Internet access. Hosts earn rewards based on coverage quality and demand. The model aims to bypass the centralized ownership structures that dominate traditional broadband and instead distribute infrastructure ownership to the network edge.
The funding highlights investor interest in the introduction of decentralization to real-world services, an approach known as Decentralized Physical Infrastructure (DePIN).
DAWN is not alone in identifying communications as a DePIN application. Another prominent project, Helium, allows users to act as small cell phone sites by installing hot spots. The platform, also built on Solana, is expanding to the Brazilian market this month in a partnership with local WiFi provider Mambo.
DAWN reaches over 4 million households in the US, while an initial international rollout in Accra, Ghana targets underserved districts where fiber has proven slow and expensive to deploy.
The project also introduced consumer hardware, including its Black Box device that acts as a router and a decentralized infrastructure node. The device supports multiple blockchain ecosystems and allows households to directly participate in broadband delivery while earning rewards.
